Little Lioness
by BrightEyes20
Summary: A young girl awakens in Narnia, while attempting to adjust to a world she used to know without her family by her side, she is given a task: aid the Kings and Queens at any cost, but without revealing her darkest secret. But she never thought that falling for the youngest King could set off a chain of events that may change Narnia forever... Ed/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Little Lioness**

**Set during the Golden Age, 5 years after the Pevensie's defeated Jadis**

**Peter - 18**

**Susan - 17**

**Edmund - 15 **

**Lucy - 13**

**I don't know if these ages are accurate they're just for my story :) **

**Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Visit**

**Edmund POV**

I twirled my sword around, stabbing at an imaginary enemy while Oreius and Peter watched from behind the archery targets, trying to spy on me. I kept focusing on my movements but edged closer to listen to them, after all, it's not like they were trying to hide that hard from me, I think the whole of the practise ground heard them, "He's getting better, isn't he your Majesty?","Yes, he's really focused these last few months, hasn't he? And his technique has improved so much-" "Why can't you just be honest and admit he's going to kick your butt in the competition and the only reason you're out here is to see how he fights?" Lucy bounced up to them, her blue dress flowing behind her, and she beamed at them speaking very loudly, "OR are you just scared he's going to embarrass you in front of everyone?" "Shush! Lucy we're trying to-hey! I am not scared! Alright he HAS gotten better...don't look at me like that Lucy! Okay fine there is a veeerrryyy small chance he might beat me".

Peter glanced at me, he obviously noticed I now had picked up another sword and was slicing a practice dummy into pieces, twirling both swords around my head. I tried to keep my expression cold and calculating, but it's so hard when you see your older brother looking like he'd rather take on Susan at archery. Lucy grinned at me, winked and giggled, "Well, Susan's looking for you anyway, she looked pretty angry though so be prepared to get you head bitten off" Peter rolled his eyes and muttered "I swear, Edmund plays jokes on everyone and gets away with it, but the second I decide to have fun for once she's on at me" Oreius smiled, "Well your Highness, I do not believe she is angry about your stint as a rebel. I think we all can agree that Queen Susan gets stressed before any formal events, especially the competitions, remember what she was like at your eighteenth?" Peter shuddered "Don't remind me, I still have nightmares about that bloody flute player trying to get me to court his daughter, I mean honestly, she looked about 12!"

I had sliced the poor dummy to a pile of hay at this point and decided to go over to them, wiping my forehead and pushing my hair out of my eyes as the sun beat down on me. I made a mental note to ask someone to cut my hair soon, "Yes, and thank the Lion's mane that I have time left, Lucy, imagine if _Peter_ gets harassed to court someone, what in Aslan's name will _I_ do? I mean, I am obviously the most attractive". Lucy and Orieus laughed while Peter glared at me, blushing furiously, "I swear Ed, if Lucy wasn't here-" "PETER!" Susan stormed up to them all, her mouth set and her eyes daring him to argue with her, "I need you to come with me now" "Why?" Peter looked sheepishly at his younger sister "I'll tell you 'why', you promised me you would help today!" "Oh...um...I'm really sorry-" "Just come on already, I have enough to do today!"

Peter and Susan both went back towards the castle while Oreius excused himself to go train some new soldiers. Peter looked back at Lucy and me with hopeless defeat on his face and we both collapsed into fits of laughter at him.A rabbit suddenly appeared out of the trees, thumping its feet nervously and trying to catch its breath, "Your...Majesties, we have...quite...a serious...problem" Lucy knelt down beside the rabbit, "What's wrong Swiftfoot?" "We were on patrol, and, well...I think we..." Swiftfoot began to sob and shake as Lucy pulled him onto her lap and hugged him, "Tell us, what happened?" The rabbit looked up at me and Lucy, tears rolling down his cheeks as he whispered, "I think we nearly killed a Daughter of Eve".

**Hi, everyone :D .**

**First off I am soo excited this is my first fan fiction EVER! I've been thinking about doing it for ages, then I read some other fanfics by other authors (check out my favourites, they are AMAZING! And for the ones im still following, im still waiting for more chapters' people!)**

**I would love to know what you all think, and although it isn't very long, it's just a little introduction to the story. Hope you like it and thank you for even looking at the first chapter. **

**Loads of Love! xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 2 - Return to Narnia**

**Leona POV**

*Earlier That Day*

I stumbled through the trees, my dress torn and ripped as I tumbled past branches, my head spinning. How could I have been so stupid? I mentally hit myself and I heard hooves behind me and shouts, "Hurry or we'll lose her!" I tried to get to a large clump of trees to hide when I heard something whistle past my ear and my heart was in my mouth. Arrows!

I didn't stop running; I honestly think I forgot how to stop. I heard the hooves, they were closer this time. I kept going, weaving into the thicket so the horses couldn't follow me. I stopped and gasped for air as I saw the group pass, wait, there wasn't a horse there, is that seriously a Minotaur? That Witch has a really good memory if she's sending Minotaur's after me; she knows they freak me out. The Minotaur led the party, with a rabbit, dwarf, fox and a faun in close pursuit. I quietly slipped behind them and moved back the way I came. If only I can get back to that meadow where I woke up, I might find my sword and my staff, and then I could seriously kick all their asses. I heard shouts again "She's there!" "Catch her, quick!" I tried to run into the trees again but suddenly I felt something hit the back of my head and I fell to the ground with a loud thump. My eyes blurred and I could just make out the blood covering the grass around me. I went numb as I gave in to the darkness that surrounded me.

_I slowly opened my eyes, and I was back in the meadow, I got up and winced as my head throbbed. It was sunset; my favourite time of day, and the sun was setting just over the mountains. I smiled, content, and looked around. I noticed then that I was not alone in the clearing. "Aslan!" I ran to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my head in his gold mane. "Hello, little one. Though, not quite so little any more, you have grown so much" He smiled and I plopped down beside him. "It doesn't feel like it was that long, Oh! How are Mum and Dad? And how are Frank, Theo and Col? Aslan chuckled "You ask so much, child, you know I cannot answer all of your questions, even the ones you did not ask. However, I can tell you it has been 900 years since you were conscious, and your family are in My Country now"_

_I just looked at him in disbelief before shock and grief hit me like a tidal wave and I felt tears well in my eyes. It couldn't have been that long. It's not possible; the curse should have broken years ago. I would never see them again; Frank and his gentle laugh, Theo and his anger management issues and Col with his dreams of exploring. I thought of Mum and Dad, reading to me and laughing at my jokes, teaching me to fight and dance, swear and paint the world around me. Anger swelled and I couldn't control my temper, "Then I'm guessing the only reason you woke me is so I can help you" Aslan looked at me sadly "Child, I know your pain is great, but they are safe with me now, and the Witch is no more. I have awoken you to aid the new Kings and Queens, for they will need you very soon."_

_He waited until my rage eased and I replied, "If you need me to use my...abilities...I can't. I lost my staff the day She found me and I don't know where it is" "It has always been with you, as have I. Just look for it and you will see it has never left you. I ask you to do this only because I know you are strong" "Yeah well, when you can't die it kind of does that to you". He smiled at me, and I felt comfort and love wash over me, deep into my soul. "You have paid a price none should, I know that, and the Witch has paid for her crimes...all of them" I nodded, satisfied that she was gone, "Are you ready, little one?" I looked at his golden eyes and sighed "Yes, as you wish Aslan" He breathed on me gently and said "Welcome back to Narnia, Leona. It is time for you to wake up"._

I opened my eyes slowly, and took in my surroundings. I was on a horse, my wrists tied to the saddle and my ankles to the stirrups, the group that were chasing me earlier were there, but the rabbit was gone. I looked at their armour, a gold lion on the breast plate. I remembered my brothers getting their armour and their first real swords and I felt the pain stab through me again. I tilted my head down gasping silently as dizziness came over me and I saw the blood on my dress, letting my hair cover my face as I cried silently.

I knew Aslan believed I was strong, but I waited so long to see them all again before they went to Aslan's Country, a place I knew in my heart I may never see. I shook myself mentally, they're alright with Aslan, and they're safe. I focused on the task at hand. I had to find the new monarchs and be their best bud. So, I straightened my back, looked at the group each in the eye and with the best formal/sarcastic voice I could muster, said, "So, who's the lucky Narnian who tried to kill the damsel in distress?" The whole party suddenly stared at me, shock on their faces, the fox, however, spoke up, and "How are you alive?" "Oh well, you know the usual, I breathe in air and-" "We get _that_; we just don't understand how you could be alive now. You were dead about 5 minutes ago." The fox was getting on my nerves, "Do I look dead to you? And even if I was dead, why did you tie me to the horse? Could you have at least introduced yourselves before you started firing arrows at me? "

They all looked at each other guiltily but the faun looked at me kindly and smiled, "My name is Mr. Tumnus, the Fox is Glade, the Dwarf is Gruffentail and the Minotaur is Taurion. And we tied you to Saphira in case you fell off" "Oh, well that was...thoughtful". They all chuckled at my reply and kept walking, chatting to me occasionally about the weather. They were actually really nice, Mr Tumnus was by far my favourite but the rest kept glancing at me like I was the plague or something, especially Taurion. Usually I never let the staring bother me but then again when I was actually awake in Narnia, people knew about me, now however I just wish they would ask about my eyes. Yes, they are unusual, yes, I've always had them, no, I am not a witch. As of yet, I doubt telling about my... abilities would help me in any way so I just pretended I didn't notice and asked, "So, where are we going?" The fawn smiled again and said "Cair Paravel, of course. You must be introduced to the Kings and Queens, also I want a healer to look at your head, and you got quite a knock and lost some blood". I froze in the saddle, Cair Paravel. No way, that sounded far too familiar. That could not be true. My breath began to quicken as I began to panic and sure enough, I could see a large castle on a hill facing the ocean. The exact one I imagined and drew in my old sketchbook the day before She caught me.

**Duh Duh DUUUHHHHHH! (sorry couldnt resist ;) )**

**Hi again! so, who do you think Leona is? I left a few hints there and if you've read the Narnia books, you may know. If you have any questions or tips let me know, im open to criticism, just dont be too mean! :)**

**Lots of Love! xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 3 - First Impressions**

**Edmunds POV**

"Are you absolutely sure they said she was hurt?"

"Yes Peter, for the last time, Swiftfoot said they hit her on the head, there was a lot of blood and that he went ahead to alert us because she stopped breathing twice, would you calm down now?"

Peter paced the dining room, his eyebrows furrowed. Lucy was checking the medical wing for bandages and Susan was biting her nails, something she hadn't done in years, while I was getting really frustrated.

"Ohh, I hope she's alright. They must have scared her half to death!"

"Su, I'm sure she's okay, maybe just a little...shaken up". She smiled weakly at me.

I knew she hated people being hurt for no reason but Peter was getting on my nerves as he was talking to himself,

"But they found her in the North? What if she's an ally of the Giants? They could break our alliance if they found out we harmed her. Or what if she's from Archenland? King Lune would be furious that the patrol were in any way violent towards her and what if-"

"Ooorrrrr she's from the Lone Islands and she swam the whole way here! Come on Peter, it's obvious we don't know who or what she is, but we need to actually find out rather than planning for more peace negotiations because our patrol got a little over zealous, am I right?"

Peter looked glumly at the floor,

"I'm just trying to be reasonable"

Susan piped up, hoping to cheer up her older brother,

"We know that Peter, but you can't know everything that's going to happen. Ed's right, we have to go and see her".

Oreius came in and said, "They have returned. The young lady is shaken, she refuses to go further into the castle, Your Highnesses"

Peter looked relieved and Susan nodded

"I would like to meet her and apologise-"

"APOLOGISE? Susan, it wasn't our fault that she-"

"She was minding her own business by the sounds of it Peter, and don't you dare raise your voice at me like that again".

Susan and Peter glared at each other until I cleared my throat, a tad uncomfortable, and said to Oreius,

"Where is she?"

"She is in the throne room, Your Majesty. I must warn you though, she is rather...unusual".

I looked at Peter and Susan pointedly and proceeded to walk to the throne room down the hall. I heard raised voices and quickened my pace, until I saw Mr. Tumnus fall through the heavy doors, panting. I ran up to him,

"Are you alright?"

"What? Ohh! Your Majesty... I'm sorry I just...needed some air".

He looked back at the door as he trotted away and I saw his ears twitch, he only ever did that when he was angry. I was soo confused at this point so I just decided to go with it.

I walked into the throne room to find a group of guards surrounding a girl; I could just about make out the bottom her deep red dress. The guards, bowed to me and one, a fox, Glade, I think his name was, stepped forward,

"Your Majesty, we found this Daughter of Eve in the North-"

"Did you seriously just say 'found?"

The girl spoke in a clear, calm voice and it was obvious she was annoyed. The whole room went silent. Wow, her voice wasn't even trembling and she sounded completely at ease, which surprised me. Normally when the daughters of the Generals from Archenland come to visit, they giggle or stammer for a majority of the time, or literally throw themselves at Peter.

Only Susan and Lucy ever spoke like she did if they had to, and at that we were all taught how to do it by our advisors and tutors. I was intrigued by her, and I still hadn't seen her face.

I saw her move away a little from the guards, her face still covered by Taurion, the Minotaur, but she continued to speak,

"I doubt saying 'found' would justify knocking a girl unconscious, hog-tying her to a horse and dragging her across the country. She might just ask herself what exactly did she do to deserve such an important audience with the Kings and Queens, do you get what I mean?"

I stifled a laugh at her sarcasm, just as Peter, Susan and Lucy came in.

"Ohh, good, you're already here, Ed, we were just-"

"Lucy, quiet",

Peter spoke harshly and cleared his throat. Uh oh, he was in High King mode, I hoped the girl still had some sarcasm left,

"Now, answer me, girl. Who, in the name of Aslan, are you?" The girl suddenly laughed,

"Do you honestly think I will introduce myself? You are the ones who wish to see me that badly; I believe you should show some manners and introduce yourselves".

The guards all gasped and glared at her while Peter went red and Susan, Lucy and I were in fits of quiet giggles. By the Lion's mane, this girl was just asking for trouble. Peter, however, took it far too seriously and spoke to her darkly,

"Unless you want to spend the night in the dungeons, I suggest you tell us your name".

Lucy, however, stepped forward just as I was about to and took a more practical approach than threatening,

"Excuse me, but why are you all standing around her? Let her breathe, this must be overwhelming".

The guards looked reluctant, but with a nod of approval from Peter, they all stepped away and we all gasped in unison.

The girl was absolutely beautiful, the most beautiful girl i had probably ever seen. Her hair was long and golden brown and her dress was old-fashioned, even in Narnian standards; it was a gold dress with a red material fitted around it and tied in an 'x' around her waist and up her ribs **(n.b. check my images for an example of the dress)** I noticed the blood that had begun to stain the material.

She wore a belt, but no sword in the scabbard; however the one thing that made us all gasp was her eyes. They burned like molten sunlight, when she looked at me and smiled I just knew she understood me and I felt calm and peaceful. Only one other pair of eyes ever made me feel like that. Aslan.

"My name is Leona".

Lucy grinned at her,

"Ohh, come on then, Leona, let's get your head looked at. I'm Lucy by the way".

Leona smiled and followed Lucy out to the medical wing. As the door closed, Susan turned to me and smirked,

"Like what you saw?"

I turned towards her, flushing bright red when I realised that I'd been staring at Leona the whole time with my mouth open.

**Leona's POV**

I wasn't really expecting to see Cair, especially since the last time I saw it was in a sketchbook I used to carry everywhere. So, to be fair, they were lucky I hadn't bolted out the door by now. Mr. Tumnus was unceremoniously thrown out of the throne room by Taurion when he tried spoke to me so I wasn't in a particularly good mood, plus my head was still throbbing and my vision was blurry at the best of times, so when one of the Kings walked in I knew I was going to be really pissed.

Judging from what Mr. Tumnus said, I guessed he was King Edmund. He was literally the definition of tall, dark and handsome. If I wasn't fighting to keep my eyes open, I'm pretty sure I would have stumbled on my dress or started stuttering stupidly. Glade trotted toward him,

"Your Majesty, we found this Daughter of Eve in the North-"

Now, to be fair, I'd had enough. I don't really remember what I said exactly but I did earn a few glares so I'm guessing I did a good job. I heard King Edmund laugh at me, well; at least someone gets sarcasm around here.

Then, to my utter joy, the rest of the monarchs walked in. King Peter, with his floppy blonde hair and serious, broody expression. I could tell we were not going to get along, while both Queen Susan and Queen Lucy looked really nice, if anything a little too cheery for this time of morning.

Again, I was just guessing from what Mr. Tumnus told me, but he told me that Queen Susan had long dark hair and piercing blue eyes. I could tell why he said she had many marriage offers. And Queen Lucy, with her shoulder length auburn hair and huge grin, looked so young and innocent.

My head started to spin again so I was even more irritable and I tried to answer King Peter as rudely as possible. Again with the glares, wow, I've gotten better over the years. I heard Queen Lucy say something and the guards moved away from me, giving me more room.

My head cleared a little and I looked up at them. Their faces were priceless. I'm guessing they hadn't seen my eyes until then. I smiled, trying not to laugh as I saw King Edmund standing with his mouth open like a goldfish. Queen Lucy walked up to me, grabbing my hand and chatting as she pulled me away to get my head checked over.

As soon as I left the room nausea overwhelmed me. I felt something warm on the back of my neck, reaching up; I touched the skin and pulled my hand away. I cringed at the amount of blood on my hand. Another wave of nausea hit me and I slumped against Queen Lucy, trying to force my eyes open. I heard her scream for help when she saw the blood and, annoyingly, I gave in to the darkness for the second time in the one bloody day.

**Don't forget to read and review! would love to hear your opinion :) **

**Lots of Love! xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 4 - The Duel**

**Edmunds' POV**

When I heard Lucy scream, I bolted out of the throne room, Peter and Susan hot on my heels. Just in the hall near the medical wing, Lucy was holding the unconscious Leona in her arms on the floor, supporting her head.

I saw the pool of blood spreading around them and immediately remembered that she was hurt. I chided myself mentally on my gentlemanly behaviour as I knelt down beside Lucy and took the girl into my arms. I felt seriously protective of her as I carried her the rest of the way to the medical wing, ignoring the gasps from the servants and the increasing blood stains on my shirt.

I rushed into the wing and laid her down on a cot while a healer, a centaur named Keela, checked Leona over before bandaging her head. I felt responsible for her, so I refused to go. Lucy, Peter and Susan, who had all followed me in, stared at me in disbelief, but I just ignored them. I knew they must think I was crazy, I never cared about a stranger like this before, but I also knew that she was different and i was not going to leave her.

We all decided to sit with her until she woke up, mostly because we all felt a little guilty from not asking her is she was alright. I think Peter took it especially hard since he demanded to know every detail of her injuries from poor Keela, until he was almost dragged away by Orieus for his extra long training session today.

Susan went all motherly on poor Leona and started to pick out some of her old dresses from her second wardrobe that she could wear whilst Lucy went to gather flowers from the garden to decorate a spare room for our new guest. We had all agreed that she can stay as long as she needs to, and since we got news that there were bad storms in Harfang, there was little chance of her returning to the North until the storms eased.

She did not wake up for two whole hours, during that I couldn't help but notice her. Her long hair was in a French plait courtesy of Lucy and her head was still bandaged. She seemed content and peaceful. I felt comfortable, even though I hadn't even properly spoken to her yet, but I wanted to, and soon.

"You know, I don't really think staring will get you anywhere in my book"

I jerked my eyes away from her bandages and saw her eyes frowning at me, suspicious.

"I'm sorry; I was just seeing if you were alright"

Her frown eased and she smiled a little at me,

"Well, at least I'll never make your day dull"

"You do know how to make quite a unique entrance"

"What can I say? I'm gifted"

We both grinned as Lucy bounced in,

"Ohh good, you're awake Lea! How are you feeling?"

"Good actually, considering my eventful morning"

Lucy laughed and proceeded to shove me out the door,

"Hey, I haven't even introduced myself yet!"

"Not when Peter wants to spar with you and I want to get Leona changed"

I sighed and left the room, wishing I was still alone with her.

**Leona's POV**

As I opened my eyes I literally thought my heart skippped a beat when I saw him, his eyebrows furrowed gently as he scanned my head with his deep chocolate brown eyes. I was not expecting him to be there at all, especially not on his own.

I was comfortable talking to him, like I was the old me again. But our budding conversation was short lived as Lucy shoved him outside to see Peter while I was trying on dresses.

"Come on, let me see!"

"No! Lucy, I look ridiculous!"

"Well let's see if I agree"

I walked out sheepishly and she grinned at me.

"You are such a fibber! You look beautiful"

I smiled at her, I wasn't used to this style of dress, the last time I was in Narnia we never wore dresses that hugged our figures, while this one was pale blue that was tight the whole way to my waist and flowed out to the floor, with the fabric pulled back in a upside down V so the pastel floral pattern underneath could be seen. Pale pink ribbon crossed my chest and was tied at a bow on my hips while the sleeves went to my elbows and had sheer frills on the ends. (**N.B. Imagine Erika's dress from Barbie's The Princess and the Pauper, it's in my images if you want to see it :D ) **

I pulled the bandage off my head, by the time Keela looked at it again i had already used a bit of my power to heal it faster, and she said i could go but i would be a little tired. Lucy handed me my belt which I strapped on and surprisingly she handed me a pair of sturdy boots,

"What are these for?"

She grinned mischievously at me,

"We're going to watch the boys spar, and in case they try to give you lessons to show off I wanted you to at least be able to give it a go".

I was surprised by this, normally it was frowned upon that girls fought. Mum nearly had a heart attack when she found out I was being trained by Dad. Lucy started towards the door and we made our way through the passages, but not surprisingly I already knew this castle like the back of my hand. Still, no point in scaring them with my vast knowledge of their home, especially since they had no idea who I was.

"Really? I can train?"

Lucy smirked at my expression

"Of course you can! We all do, though they never let me fight in real battles"

"Wow that's brilliant, what's your weapon?"

"I'm good at throwing daggers and I'm passable at archery, what about you? Judging by that belt you use a sword"

"Yes, but I lost it some time ago but I kept my belt in case I found it again. And it's my Dad's; mostly it's just for memories now"

"Where is your family, if you don't mind my asking?"

"They're with Aslan in His Country"

Lucy stopped dead in her tracks and looked at me, her eyes going teary,

"I am so sorry!"

"Don't be, you didn't know and I'm sure no one else knows anyway. It's okay, really".

I smiled and continued down the hall, pretending to look lost when I reached two different corridors. She smiled at me, grabbing my hand and within a few more minutes we reached the training ground.

I could see Susan shooting arrow after arrow and hitting each target in the dead centre. Theo would have loved to train with her, I thought wistfully.

All the real practice swords were gone already, and there was no way I was using the pathetic wooden ones for beginners, so I decided to give my archery a try. I chose the best bow out of the lot and a quiver of arrows. I saw Susan walk towards Lucy and, not wanting to disturb them, started without them.

I notched an arrow without even bothering to aim for the targets at the other end of the field. I never usually used targets when me and my brothers trained anyway, mostly because it was far too easy and no fun. I shot an apple from a tree right behind them, making sure it wasn't a dryad's tree, of course. Susan walked up to me,

"Don't worry, it's your first try, you did really well"

"Susan, please be kind enough to notice the apple with the arrow sticking out of it"

Edmund had walked over to us, his hair damp with sweat and his sword in his hand.

"Oh, come on now, where is this 'apple'?"

They started to argue so I went on, not listening to them as I put the bow and arrows down and picked up a dagger. I weighed it in my hands before, again, looking for a challenge, and aimed at a practice dummy that was being pulled by a centaur at the other side of the field.

I gestured throwing the dagger at the dummy and he nodded, still pulling the dummy and whistling, while I turned around and quickly twisted back, throwing the dagger at the same time. It hit the dummy square in the chest and the centaur stopped pulling the dummy and laughed in disbelief.

Lucy came up to me with wide eyes,

"Can you teach me that?"

I laughed and choked out a yes as Susan and Edmund strode up to me, the arrow and the apple in Susan's hands,

"How in the name of Aslan did you do that?"

I just shrugged at them,

"Practice, I guess."

"Well, care to see how you fare with a sword?"

Peter had sauntered over, clear anger in his eyes as he frowned at me.

"Sure, you want to spar now?"

"Why not?"

Susan and Lucy both looked at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Peter is really good-"

but I raised my hand and leaned towards them, whispering,

"He needs to be taught a lesson, wouldn't you agree?"

They both grinned and nodded and I made my way over the swords but someone grabbed my wrist, I whirled around, but Edmund stared at me intently,

"Here, use my sword"

"No, I can't-"

"Yes, you can. I am the King so you have to do as I say".

He winked at me and I laughed and spoke in a dramatic voice,

"Well, I can't refuse a King"

as I took his sword and strode over to where Peter was waiting impatiently.

**Edmund's POV**

She held the sword low to the ground, I felt my heart pound in my chest when I realised that I was taller than most of the other soldiers so I used larger swords, it was far too heavy for her to defend herself with.

I stood beside Lucy and Susan while the rest of the Narnians who were training gathered around in anticipation. Lucy giggled and said,

"Peter is just asking for this"

"What, beating a poor girl who was too stubborn to say no?"

"No, get beaten by a highly trained girl who would have said no if Peter wasn't being such an ass to her".

I smiled, only Lucy could be so confident in her new friend. She didn't know Peter's fighting technique like I did. He found a weak spot and he uses it against you. Leona had no chance at all.

Peter suddenly attacked her, swinging his sword at her throat, but she dodged underneath it, she moved gracefully, almost like a dancer. She twirled around so she was facing Peter's back, but he whirled and jabbed at her, again she spun out of the way, only this time I saw a glint of anger in her eyes and she suddenly raised the sword like it weighed nothing, bringing it down on the hilt of Peters, causing it to fall from his grip.

She dropped into a crouch with one leg and spun at the same time with her other leg out, so Peter fell to the ground with a loud thump. Everyone gasped, including me. She raised my sword again and started spinning it around in her hand, twisting it around her body as she used her other hand and picked up Peter's sword, adding it to her deadly dance.

She twisted both swords, suddenly spinning both around her head while twirling at the same time before bringing them both down on either side of Peter in an X and she hissed at him, her eyes burning gold,

"Don't underestimate me again, King or not".

Peter looked at her with wide eyes; the whole fight took less than two minutes. There was complete silence throughout the grounds until Lucy and Susan started cheering for Leona while I went over to Peter,

"You did good, Oreius taught you well but-"

"I know, I know Ed, but I deserved that. I understand why she was angry at me, I suppose I just didn't really know what to expect from her".

Well, Leona had my upmost respect now; no one has ever humbled Peter that quickly, even Mum couldn't do that.

I glanced at her, laughing with Lucy and Susan. I frowned; Peter was drenched in sweat for just fighting with her in those two minutes, whereas she looked like she hadn't even fought the High King of Narnia one minute ago.

She wasn't out of breath, her hair didn't even look slightly out of place as she looked calmly at Peter and walked towards him,

"I'm sorry if this is going to embarrass you, I remember if I beat my brothers I had to keep it a secret so no one would find out"

Peter laughed,

"No, it's alright, I did deserve that. I'm sorry for how I've been acting, and I hope we can be good friends. Mind if you show me some of your techniques?"

"No problem, I'd be glad to. You all fight strangely, like you've just been taught the movements"

"Well, we kind of were"

"That's odd for me, I was always taught to develop my own style, regardless of anyone else's. I suppose that's what surprised you a bit"

She smiled at him, agreeing to help him train for the competitions next week, and turned to me,

"Lucy said you knew where the library was, could you show me where it is, Ed?"

"Of course, I'll take you there now".

As we were walking away, I saw Peter motioning towards Leona and giving me the thumbs up, I inwardly groaned and prayed to Aslan that Leona didn't see, but she just turned to me and said,

"i always thought Leona is a bit of a mouthful, you can shorten it if you like. It's like me calling you Ed, but you don't mind that, right? Lucy said you wouldn't beacuse everone callsyou that "

"Of course not! I like coming up with nicknames, I'll let you know when I think of something good"

She smiled at me and I could've sworn her eyes shone brighter as she followed me into the castle.

**Read and review people! Let me know what you think Ed should call Leona :) xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 5 – Memories **

**Leona POV**

I honestly thought my legs were jelly by the time we reached that stupid library. All I wanted was to look at some history books and find out what happened to my family when I left, but what do I get? At least 300 stairs to climb and me, not being the most graceful of people, fell constantly.

I think Edmund must have thought I was going to faint again, because after the third time he said,

"Are you sure you're okay? If you don't feel up to it I can carry you if you want"

And my stupid pride got in the way,

"No, no, im fine, I'm just naturally clumsy".

I knew he didn't believe me by his raised eyebrows, but seriously, who was stupid enough to put a library near the top of a castle?

By the time we got there I think my knees were going to turn black and Ed was in hysterics at me,

"Well, at least I know you're bad at something"

"What? Climbing stairs?"

"Yes, you had me fooled for a minute that you were good at everything"

"I doubt stairs count as being good at something"

'Yes, well you just proved that wrong'.

I shoved him playfully into a door, not realising it was locked and he bounced off it, falling to the ground awkwardly as I laughed at him. I rushed over, still giggling and knelt down beside him,

"I am soo sorry; I didn't know it was locked"

He got up slowly and smiled at my expression,

"Well, be thankful you didn't kill me. Peter would not be too happy...actually I don't really know how he'd react, either he'd celebrate or crown you Queen!

"I'm sure they'd all miss you but since you're not dead, would you mind if I looked at your arm?"

He glanced down and saw the cut on his forearm, a trail of blood flowing down to his hand,

"It's nothing, really. I've had worse"

I could tell it was hurting him, as I concentrated on his arm, focusing my energy on the cut as I analysed it. It was shallow so thankfully it wouldn't get infected if I covered it.

I reached down, grabbing a part of my dress and ripped it. He laughed at me

"You know, Susan will kill you for that"

"Well, I'll tell her I was saving the King's life by doing it so she should be thankful".

He laughed again, allowing me to wrap the material over the cut, tying it tightly. I know I probably shouldn't have, but I couldn't help but notice the muscle on his arms.

This guy must work out a lot! I checked the bandage again, but this time he grabbed my hand gently,

"Come on, or we'll never get to the library".

Towing me down the corridor and to huge set of wooden doors with intricate designs in them,

"Well, here we are".

He opened the doors and gestured for me to go ahead of him. I was in heaven, literally.

The place was stuffed full of books practically to the ceiling, with a fire on the other side and sofas scattered through the aisles. I quickly scanned for the section I was looking for and selected a huge, dusty book. Sadly it was at the top of the shelf and I was too short to reach it.

I was tall for my age so I was surprised that I couldn't reach it. I jumped up, stretching my hands towards the shelf. I grabbed the edge and pulled myself up, balancing on the bottom shelf on the tips of my boots. I pulled the book off the shelf, and not realising how heavy it was, lost my footing and fell backwards.

Suddenly I felt arms around me, and I looked up to see warm brown eyes twinkling at me,

"I hope you realise we do have ladders, or you could have asked me to get it for you"

"Its fine, I just lost my footing I forgot how heavy those damn books were-I mean I didn't know how heavy they would be".

He chuckled and still carrying me went over to the sofas.

"Do you think you could put me down?"

"Not since you just recovered from quite a serious head injury and was persistent enough to try climb up a bookshelf, I think I should keep an eye on you".

I frowned, why was he so stubborn?

He placed me down on one of the chairs and went back to the aisle, returning with my book in his hands.

"Care to tell me why you chose the oldest book in the whole library?"

"I just want to know a bit about this place, that's all"

"I could just tell you if you want, you know"

"It's alright, I like looking at books, but if it doesn't tell me then I'll ask you, how's that?"

He shrugged, and picking up a book form the table in front of me, sat on the chair opposite the window and started to read.

Honestly I appreciated his patience with me, so I opened the book and quickly began to read.

**Edmund POV**

I only pretended to read the book, it was boring anyway, just about old laws and a majority was in Old Narnian so I couldn't read it even if I tried. I just looked at the pages and spent the rest of the time watching Leona read the history book.

I understood why she wanted to find out about Narnia, I still wasn't sure whether she came here like we did, or she just wanted to read something, nevertheless, she was interesting to watch.

She read quickly, scanning through the pages like an expert, her eyes shining thoughtfully as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before twirling it around her finger. Her frown increased; before I saw her eyes go teary.

"Are you alright?"

She snapped her head up and locked eyes with me, a single tear flowing down her cheek.

Immediately I got up and walked over to her, kneeling down beside her.

"I'm fine, I just, didn't know the history of this place was so sad".

I looked at the page she was reading, 'The Fall of the First King and Queen'. I looked up at her; this page obviously upset her for some reason,

"Why are you upset? This happened hundreds of years ago"

"It doesn't feel like it"

I heard her mutter, before her eyes widened and she clamped her hand over her mouth. It just registered to me what she said before she got up quickly, moving towards the door. I followed her quickly and grabbed her hand,

"What are you talking about? Were you there?"

She looked at me sadly and said,

"You aren't supposed to know".

She placed her fingertips on my temples and everything went black.

**Leona POV**

I pulled a blanket over him, placing the book he was reading in his hands. I had to make it look like he fell asleep.

I was soo mad that I almost exposed myself to him, but I swear I didn't even realise what I said until I said it. I felt so comfortable around him, I didn't think.

Well, at least I was able to make him forget what I said, I was lucky that I had enough power for that. It wasn't the right time to tell them, not yet anyway, they had to trust me before they knew the truth.

I saw him stir and quickly sat beside him, flipping the pages of my book and trying to look as though I'd been reading the whole time.

I felt his eyes on me before he suddenly jumped off the sofa

"What happened?"

"Whoa, calm down, would you? You fell asleep reading your book and I just put a blanket over you".

I smiled, encouraging him mentally to remember what I told him to remember. Realisation slowly crept back to his face and he smiled, sitting down beside me.

"I'm sorry, I overreacted. I get really disoriented when I sleep"

"It's okay, you weren't asleep for long anyway, and I found what I was looking for"

"That's good; do you want me to walk with you to dinner? It should be nearly six by now at least"

"Yeah, why not?"

He got up and, holding out his elbow to me, escorted me to the dining room.

I was dreading the stairs, but he saw the look on my face and I saw an idea pop into his head,

"Follow me, okay?"

I nodded and let him pull me towards the banister. He sat on it, positioning himself like he was on side-saddle. He gestured to me

"Come on, this is more fun".

I honestly began to question his sanity by then but I figured I owed him, with me tampering with his memory and all.

I sat behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He turned towards me and grinned,

"Ready?"

"No chance, I'm terrified!"

"Don't be, I've got you"

He smiled encouragingly and pushed off from the ground. I grabbed him tighter and kept my face between his shoulder blades and we whisked down the stairs. We reached the bottom far faster than I thought, but he kept going and jumped off the end of the banister, pulling me with him.

I shrieked but he landed on his back, taking the full force of our combined weight as I landed on top of him.

We both burst out laughing as I rolled off him. We both lay in the stone floor, panting and trying to get our breath back. He rolled over on his side, facing me

"Fun, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, if you like the feeling that you're about to hit a brick wall"

We started laughing again as he got up and, grabbing my hands, hoisted me up on my feet. We walked quickly to the dining room, where Peter, Susan and Lucy were already seated. Lucy giggled at our flushed faces and stupid grins while Peter and Susan looked at us like we were crazy,

"What on earth happened to you two?"

"Pete, if I told you I believe that you would have to have a very serious conversation with poor Lucy that consists of-"

"Alright, alright, I don't need to know!"

Peter went bright red and Lucy turned to me as I sat down beside her,

"What happened?"

"We slid down the banister"

She laughed at me,

"Really? Ed usually only does that kind of thing around us. You two must be getting along really well. Did you play chess with her, Ed? You only go down the banister with me unless you beat me at chess".

I wasn't really sure what 'chess' was so I said,

"What's chess? Is it some kind of book?"

Peter choked on his drink violently,

"You don't know what chess is?"

I started to blush, feeling stupid for asking the question but Ed smiled at me,

"I'll show you some time, I will warn you though, I am the best at chess in this entire castle".

I grinned at him,

"Arrogance will only get you so far, Ed, and besides, I learn fast".

Susan giggled into her plate.

I forgot there was even food on the table, I hadn't eaten in soo long that I didn't even realise how hungry I was.

I tried to eat as much as I could without looking fat, but sadly, Edmund, always the observant one, noticed.

"How much do you eat exactly?"

"In case you were wondering I haven't eaten since yesterday and I'm starving".

I hoped they would believe my lie, technically when my body was frozen it feels like I haven't eaten in a day, not 900 years.

They all nodded, believing me completely while Ed went red in embarrassment. Susan suddenly spoke,

"So, have you all decided who you are taking to the ball after the competitions?"

Lucy grinned, "I'm taking Mr. Tumnus, he's never been before"

Peter smiled at her, "That's lovely Lucy; I think I will take Sophie, the General's daughter. I've been speaking to her a lot recently and I think she'll be fun".

"Well, I decided to ask Prince Rabadash, I think it will be good it we are polite to our guests".

Peter and Ed frowned at Susan's answer, but she didn't notice.

"Well, what about you Ed?"

"I don't know, I might just go on my own as I usually do"

"Oh, honestly Ed, you're almost 16, at least choose someone".

Lucy looked over at me,

"Who are you taking, Leona?"

"I wasn't really going to go...I don't usually go to these kinds of events".

She frowned, "Please come! It'll be fun, and girls can compete this year so maybe you could compete as well!"

Edmund suddenly yelled, "No! There is no way I want you to compete!"

I felt anger boil under my skin, "And why not?"

"Because! There are Calormenes competing. When Lucy says girls are allowed to fight she means they go up against the boys as well"

"Oh, so you think I can't fight them?"

"No, I just don't want them to take advantage of you"

"Like I would let them!"

We both glared at each other, and I turned to Peter,

"I'm competing"

"Didn't you just hear me, I said no"

"Who are you to say what I can and can't do? I'll do what I want and if you can't accept that, then tough".

He shot daggers at me, his eyes cold. Peter cleared his throat,

"I'll train you, starting tomorrow. I'll show you some of their tactics"

I smiled at him, "Thanks"

Edmund got up from the table and walked out of the room. Susan looked at me apologetically,

"I'm sorry usually he's not like this at all"

"It's fine Susan, really. I'm a little tired so I think I'll just go to bed. I'll see you all in the morning".

I walked out of the room and went back towards the library. I forgot I had no idea where my room was, I had never been there before. I decided to go back, but when I turned around I forgot which way I came, the corridors all looked the same.

Thoroughly confused, I trudged around until I saw a painting that looked familiar. I walked up to it, looking at it closely. I recognised the brushstrokes around the sunset and the signature scrawled elegantly at the bottom corner. It was one of Mum's paintings. Instinctively I reached up to my neck, grabbing the small gold key necklace I had around my neck.

Swallowing back tears, I kept going until I reached a dead end. I groaned, frustrated and was about to go back when I heard a voice behind me,

"Lost, huh?"

I whirled around and there was Edmund, leaning on a doorframe with a smirk on his face,

"No, I'm not lost, just looking around"

"Sure you were. Come on. I'll take you to your room".

He grabbed my hand and pulled me thorough an intricate maze of corridors and stairs, until he stopped at a door with a huge oak tree engraved on it.

"Here you are",

I smiled up at him, glad that he didn't bring up our argument at dinner and went into my room as he walked away.

The room was huge, the large four-poster bed on one side, with a wardrobe in a corner and a floor length mirror beside it. A vanity table was placed at the opposite wall to me, just beside the window that lead to a balcony with a gorgeous view of the beach.

I saw a small door on my left and looked in to see a small washroom, and proceeded to get myself ready for bed, grabbing a nightdress from the wardrobe.

After I washed, I let my head sink into the pillows. I looked up at the top of the bed and saw a carving; it was a picture of a large group of Narnians, with a man and woman on one side wearing long robes and crowns, smiling happily.

Two small children in odd looking clothes were beside them, and I saw a large ball of branches dripping in mud on the other side. Aslan was roaring in the picture, and the Narnians were cheering. I saw a large tree in the background, covering the large party in its protection.

I felt a tear fall down my cheek as I recognised the image that I imagined every time Mum and Dad told me the story of their coronation.

**Let me know what you think!**

**i'm sorry its been a while i have exams coming up and i have loads of work to do :( i might not be able to upload for a while but hopefully it wont be too long :) I'm starting to think maybe the story is going a little too quick but i want Leona's character and her story to develop constantly plus i dont want it to be boring, let me know how i can make it better and any suggestions would be appreciated :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 6 – The Lullaby **

**Leona POV**

I woke the next morning really early, I could see the sun just coming up from my window. I stretched my arms and, content, started to get dressed. Since Peter said he would train me soon, I decided to wear something practical, and get some real training done the way I used to.

I put on a simple pastel green dress, it was slightly shorter than the others Susan chose, it was probably one Lucy's older dresses, Susan would never have worn something this plain, and it was the only one I could see that had sleeves. It just had a plain floral design in a darker shade of green around my waist; the sleeves went to my wrists and had the same design on them. I hummed one of Mum's old lullbaies as I put on my belt and the boots Lucy gave me yesterday, and pulled my hair into a high ponytail.

As I walked down the corridor my stomach rumbled and I felt my cheeks flush, embarrassed although no one was there, so I went to find the kitchen. It took a while, and by the time I got there I was considering just going outside and finding an apple tree. I walked in and found barely anyone awake, just a Faun getting breakfast ready and a Badger asleep on a seat by a small table.

'Hello, my name's Leona, I was wondering if I could get something to eat?'

The poor Faun jumped about a foot in the air and dropped the plate of eggs he was holding. They smashed all over the floor and immediately I rushed over to him,

'I am soo sorry! I didn't mean to scare you'

'Ohh, it's alright, just not used to someone being up so early, especially a guest. I'm Ervin'

'It's nice to meet you. Unfortunately I'm an early riser so you'll have to put up with me'.

I helped him clear up the eggs, and as we worked, he heard my stomach rumble again and he chuckled,

'Can't have anyone starving now, can we?'

As he put together a plate of toast for me, I had picked up another batch of eggs and started to scramble them, trying to remember what Mum taught me. I was getting into it after a little while and as I stirred the mix I started to hum the tune of one of my favourite lullabies. I kept noticing Ervin looking up at me out of the corner of my eye, but I couldn't help but start singing,

_'Silver light_  
_She turned her face up to the starlit sky_  
_And on this night began to wonder why_  
_She knew that soon the day would come_

_Born to be_  
_An heir of beauty and serenity_  
_Into this world she entered quietly_  
_To her surprise she was the one'_

_ Destiny was close behind her_  
_Phantom of borrowed life-'_

'Where did you hear that before?'

Ervin frowned at me, I saw that his eyes had glistened and I was uncomfortable under his stare, so I shrugged and just replied,

'I just heard it somewhere a long time ago, it always reminded me of my Mum, she would have sang it in the kitchen, or if she was singing me to sleep'

'Who is your mother exactly?'

I felt my back stiffen, why couldn't he just leave it alone? It's not like anyone recognised Mum's song anyway,

'You wouldn't have known her, her name was Helen'.

Ervin nodded slowly, finally satisfied with my answer, and I returned to the finished eggs. He gratefully took the pot from me, handing me a small basket of food and smiled,

'Thank you for your help, it's a nice day, you should go outside and have a picnic'

'Thank you very much and don't worry about it, let me know if you need a hand anytime'

'I will, and I'll be looking for you to finish that song for me, it was beautiful'.

I smiled at him and left the kitchen, attempting to go to the dining room to say good morning to everyone.

I managed to find a way outside, so I gave up on my greeting attempt and walked around the orchard, picking the oldest tree I could find. I felt the wind brush my hair with its gentle caress as I ran my fingertips along the bark of the tree. I remembered a time when the dryads were my teachers, when they had sat me down and taught me about the world and the earth.

I sat down, resting my back on the tree trunk and closed my eyes, drifting gently through my old memories.

* * *

_I opened my eyes, I was laughing while clutching a bouquet of flowers in my small hands, and I weaved my way through the trees while Mum and Dad were sitting on a blanket in a clearing. My brothers were mock fighting, laughing with their wooden swords clenched in their clumsy hands as Dad shouted instructions at them,_

_'No, Theo, move right, RIGHT, oh for Aslan's sake - No Col, never throw your sword like a spear, son!'_

_Mum was giggling at their clumsy attempts, and when she saw me, opened her arms to me and I ran to her, burying the flowers in her hands and lying my head on her shoulder. She sang the song, the one she knew would get me to sleep. I closed my eyes and listened to my Mum's soft voice, my brothers and Dad laughing on the other side of the clearing. Mum turned to me and whispered, 'This song was for you Lea, you're more important than all of us'._

* * *

'Leona? Leona!'

I jumped quickly at the sound, pulling me back from the memory. Lucy was standing over me, with a worried expression on her face,

'I'm sorry I must have fallen asleep'

She grinned widely at me and giggled,

'Well, at least I found you before Peter did, he's really angry today'

'Why? He was fine yesterday'

'We have to get going quickly; otherwise they'll change their minds'

'Where are we going exactly?'

I was thoroughly confused, but Lucy just pulled me to my feet and started tugging me out of the orchard while she quickly scooped up my basket and took it with us. We went around to the other side of the vast garden, and reached the stables. Lucy pulled me through the door and started explaining quickly,

'We don't really want you to worry, but a lot of the Witches' old followers were sighted in the north near where we found you, an Eagle said they were all gathered in a clearing, apparently it was very important by the looks of it, anyway, I begged Peter to let me take you out horse riding yesterday and I want to go before Peter blows a vein'.

She spoke so quickly for someone so small, it was soo hard to keep up with her, but I couldn't help but wonder if they were searching the clearing for me, especially that damn Werewolf. If they were any of Her followers looking for me, He would be there. And now that the Witch is dead, I'm positive he won't stop until he finds me again.

I felt a shiver of fear run down my spine and I shuddered. He scared me a lot, even when he worked with my Dad he scared me, with that huge jagged scar running down his face, his black eyes leering at me and his cruel sneer. Ughh, I shoved the image back and focused on Lucy as she joked with her beautiful chestnut Horse she introduced to me as Fallon and was putting a saddle on his back.

I picked up my own tack and moved toward a beautiful grey mare, speaking to her softly,

'I hope you won't mind if I asked you if I could put this on you?'

'Of course not, I remember you'.

She had a gentle voice and I knew she was comfortable so I started putting the saddle on and kept chatting to her,

'How do you remember me? I've never been here before'

'I carried you the day you came here, my name is Saphira. I doubt anyone could forget you eyes'.

I smiled at her and continued fitting the girth,

'Well mine's Leona, I guess I made quite an impression on everyone'

'I suppose you did, it's not every day we see a friendly face from the North, that's dangerous grounds for us. Even the patrol doesn't want to go up there, but King Edmund is insistent that we rid Narnia of the Witches' followers'.

'He sounds very determined'

'Yes, he's very fair and kind, have you taken an interest in him?'

'What? No! No, we're all friends'

I heard hysterical giggles and looked up quickly, Lucy was holding Fallon's reins and listening to me and Saphira,

'A-are y-you r-r-ready-y?'

I blushed furiously and finished fixing the saddle on Saphira, as I motioned for her to follow me; Lucy looked pointedly at me and then at Saphira,

'You forgot the reins, Lea'

'I know, I don't really like reins myself, so I can't imagine how a Horse can wear them all the time'

Saphira shook her head and whinnied,

'Hear, hear! I like this one Your Majesty'

'Me too Saph, but just call me Lucy, please'.

We both climbed onto our Horses and raced out the stable doors, through the gates and into the woods.

I couldn't believe I almost forgot how beautiful Narnia was, especially in spring. The trees were in full bloom, and centaurs were out with their children, teaching them about the trees and the earth, while dryads danced gracefully around me and Lucy as we rode through a small path in the thicket. I felt so peaceful, I almost forgot about what I had to do, what I was responsible for.

We decided to rest by a stream, letting Saphira and Fallon rest, and we sat down on the bank. We didn't say much, but Fallon and Saphira were rolling around in the grass and we were laughing at them, when Lucy turned to me,

'Can I ask you something?'

'Of course you can! What is it?'

'Where are you from?'

I sat up a little straighter, and looked Lucy in the eye,

'I'm going to be very honest with you Lucy. I only know that Narnia is my home. You and your brothers and sister are the rulers now and I support you, but the last time I was here Narnia was very different'

'How could it be different?'

'Well, you weren't the rulers-'

'Ohh did you and your family flee from the White Witch?'

'Lucy...I can't say. Please just trust me, I know it might be hard but it's too dangerous for you to know'

She looked at me, her eyes full of sadness but also understanding,

'If you don't want to talk about it its okay, but I'd rather you'd know I'm here if you want to talk. Just remember people are going to ask, I might be able to help if they do'

I saw her then, not as a child, but a Queen, with her determined eyes. She really wanted to help me. Aslan, I prayed, I want to tell her everything, but I know it will be a danger for her. What should I do?

The sun shone in the clearing, illuminating through the leaves on the trees and casting shadows around me and Lucy, I heard a deep rumble from within the forest, and I knew what to do.

'Okay, Lucy I'll tell you the truth. I'm not really from the North, I'm-'

Saphira and Fallon, whinnying in fright, galloped to us,

'We must leave now!'

'Hurry, get on us!'

A group of about seven appeared from across the stream, their swords and arrows aimed at us. I recognised none of them, but I could probably bet I knew their ancestors, the only one I had locked eyes with and paid and attention to was _him,_ his black eyes snarling at me and his jaws turned into a dog–like grin.

'Well, it's about time I saw you again Little Lioness'

I felt mymouth turn up in a sneer and I spat at him,

'Ohh, Maddok for a second there I thought you were Rye, but wait, I killed him didn't I?'

He snarled at me, his yellow teeth looked sharper then when I last saw them near my throat,

'Well, at least I was able to wait all these years, what were you doing? Ohh yes, I believe you were stone all this time'.

Lucy had darted onto Fallon and was watching our exchange, terror in her eyes. I motioned for her to go while I had them distracted, but she just wouldn't leave. Either she didn't understand me or she just wasn't listening, honestly, I wasn't in the mood. So, I slapped Fallon's rump and sent him galloping to the other side of the clearing, with Saphira following and neighing,

'Don't worry, we'll bring help!'

I kept my eyes on Maddok, not bothering to see if she had gone or not, I just had to focus on them with my power for a second to hear the thump of hooves disappear into the foliage. Maddok grinned again, this time a deep growl camefrom his throat,

'Well, now the distractions away, let's see how you've improved over the years'.

And he bared his teeth as his men lunged at me.

**Let me know what you think! **

**in all honesty i dont know if this is going a bit too fast, but please let me now if you think it is! in the next chapter edmund definitely comes into the picture a bit more ;)**

**All credits for Leona's lullaby goes to Adriana Figueroa and her song Daughter of the Moon. I heard this for the first time a few days ago and i honestly could not believe how well it suited Leona!**

**And thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited my story, it really means a lot 3**

**Lots of love! xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 7 – Victims**

**Edmund POV**

I woke up late today, I felt groggy as I was restless the entire night. All I could think about was some Calormen attacking Leona. It sent my nerves on edge, and made me want to call off the tournament. It scared me too, how much I cared about what would happen to her? Why was I so afraid of someone hurting her? I knew she could take care of herself, but the thought of her standing with a Calormen sword anywhere near here just made my heart race.

I got up quickly, I had a lot of meetings today, and then I would go and find her, try to convince her not to compete. Although, from what happened yesterday, she was just as stubborn as I am, so it'll be interesting.

I half-walked half-sprinted down the halls to Peter's study, but I saw that painting Leona was looking at the other day before I interrupted her. It was old, but beautiful. It was one of Susan's favourites, and, though I'd hate to admit it, it had grown on me. It reminded me of the sunset the day of our coronation, the gentle streaks of sunlight were peaceful and the water was calm, no hint of a storm.

I turned my attention to the signature at the bottom corner, I couldn't make out some of it, but I gathered it was by a woman named Helen, it was either that or some kid decided to scribble on the corner of the painting.

'Ed! Get in here now! What are you doing?'

I jumped about a foot in the air as Peter came up to me,

'Come on, we have enough to do today without you standing around. Elvin put breakfast in my study, hurry or we'll be late'.

We both ate quickly, Elvin practically throwing food at us,

'Your Majesties, you might have to think about rescheduling the meeting. You're just awake, and you haven't eaten enough-'

'Were fine Ervin, thank you. Since when did you make so much?'

I hadn't even noticed he had made far too much for the both of us, whether it was a sign I was hungry or he thought we were too skinny I couldn't tell you. But he just chuckled at Peter,

'I apologise, Your Highness. I had a little extra help this morning from your guest, Lady Leona'

'Hang on; she got up at 6 this morning to help you?'

'No, she was already awake and came to get breakfast before going outside, she scared me half to death and I knocked the plates everywhere but she offered to help me'

I smiled at Peter and Ervin and mumbled as I was sipping my juice,

'Well, at least I know another thing she's good at; I should start making a bloody list'

'I apologise your Majesty, have you taken a fancy to our visitor?'

I started to choke on my juice and Peter had to thump me on the back for a good 10 minutes while Ervin flapped about like a headless chicken,

'I'm so so sorry, King Edmund! I honestly did not mean that at all!'

I had come around then, and Peter was in fits of laughter at me,

'Aww, my little brother has a crush!'

'I DO NOT have a crush! I think she is a good friend, that's all!'

'Ohh, of course, how could I forget? When are you going to teach her chess?'

'Soon, hopefully, I really do think I should take her to see Mr Tumnus though, he would be more patient with her than I would, but on the way I could take her to Lantern Waste, what do you think?'

'Well...I think you fancy her and you want to get her out of the castle before the rest of us realise'

I grunted and continued stuffing breakfast in my mouth, trying to ignore the fact I was bright red as he gave me advice,

'Don't take her out of the castle for Aslan's sake, show her the garden at least, or the beach, just don't take her that far just yet! Remember Ed, woo the girl in your home, and it's less likely she'll leave when the storm stops'.

'And I'm sure your expert advice got you, how many girls?'

'...Shut up, I'm just trying to help'

Now it was Peter's turn to go red. Ha. I saw Ervin had already left, singing a song, he was probably leaving the goblet tray in the meeting room, and it was going to be a long morning, because we needed to discuss the removal of the Witch's force over the North with our advisors. I head the lyrics from outside the door,

_'Silver light  
She turned her face up to the starlit sky  
And on this night began to wonder why-'_

We heard a commotion outside, shouts echoed through the hall and a loud clang. Immediately me and Peter drew our swords and marched out the door, to the source of the noise in the meeting room. Ervin was being held up against the wall by our oldest Archenland advisor, Carlisle, with a sword against his throat.

Peter shouted,

'Enough! Carlisle, what is the meaning of this madness?'

'This...beast...was singing _her _song; no one can sing her song but her and her children. It is a decree upon Narnia by the Great Lion himself, _no one_ is to sing The Lady's song, even I know that, and I spent my early years in Archenland!'

'What song? What in the name of the Lion's name do you mean?'

'The song! The song that Faun _thought_ he could sing! The song that the Lady sang to her children, the song that Aslan himself forbad anyone to sing even the Kings of Archenland do not sing that song, after the Witch...NO ONE can sing the song'

Wow, this guy is delusional. I shook my head at Pete and Oreius pulled Carlisle off poor Ervin, whose hooves were shaking. I put my hand on his shoulder,

'Go now, I have no way of saying sorry to you, only I will soon'

Ervin nodded, but turned to Carlisle and said,

'What would have happened if I kept singing?'

Carlisle just looked at him darkly,

'You would not wish to know; only that many men have tried to sing that song, out of fear or stupidity, and each was destroyed at the mercy of the fire that claimed them. It was said even the White Witches' wand could not control the blaze'

Ervin gulped and scurried out of the room, muttering to himself. I turned to Peter and quickly whispered,

'What should we do? Obviously this song is important, but we can't have this meeting without him, mad or not'

'I agree, he is 84, he's seen a lot in his time and the stories he has heard. People are superstitious now, and we can't afford to lose him, just let him stay until this is over but give him time to rest after'.

When Carlisle was calm again, we all sat at the table and began to discuss affairs, from the dryad's issues with the naiads and the dwarfs quarrel with the squirrels. To be honest, most of the time I don't pay attention, I just let Peter sort it out.

When we reached the difficult topics of discussion, then it always gets interesting. Peter, of course, sided with me, we knew the Witches followers would not stop until we either drive them to the Western Wild or finish them in combat, but some were persistent that peace was still was still an option.

I had had enough of their excuses and, rising from my seat, looked at each of them,

'Which one of you can say you have not been affected by them? Which of you can say they are not a threat to the Narnians? Who can say that they will not gather the Giant's support and attack? We don't know what they will do, but they still follow the most dangerous leader that Narnia has seen these past few hundred years! We must stop them before this gets out of hand!'

Peter stood with me, and clapping me on the back, said,

'Who wants to argue with the Just King?'

As we had finally finished for the day, Peter turned to me as the advisors were leaving the room,

'Well done, Ed! You put them in their place better than I could ever have'

'Thanks, at least we don't have to worry about meetings anymore today; I couldn't take another few hours'

A Faun came up to us,

'You Highnesses', an Eagle sends a message to you'

'Hello, what's the message?'

'A large group of the White Witches' followers were spotted in a large clearing in the North. The Eagle said it looked like a search party, they were scouring the place, leaf by leaf'.

Peter sighed,

'Alright, I want you to send a message to my sisters, could you do that? Tell them not to leave the castle today, tell them the Eagle's message as well'.

The Faun nodded and scurried out the door. Peter turned to me quickly

'So, do you really fancy her?'

'Come on Pete!'

'Tell me now or I'll just assume'

'Okay okay, fine! I think she's pretty, yes, but that's all!'

'Like 'pretty' pretty or beautiful pretty?'

I felt my cheeks go red again and Peter laughed jokingly,

'Forget 'crush', now it's more like love!'

We suddenly heard hooves clatter outside and Oreius, with Susan on his back, burst into the room with pure terror on their faces,

'Peter! Edmund! We have to go now!'

'Seriously, can we not have a break at all today?'

'No time, your Majesties, you sister needs you now'

Me and Peter looked at each other, and then ran as Oreius galloped ahead of us to the front gates. Lucy was there, shaking and crying, with Fallon and Saphira panting beside her, when she saw us she rushed over,

'You have to go help her, now!'

'What is it Lucy?'

She-she made me go, I didn't want to. I had t-to get help and they weren't paying attention t-to me, so she made me g-go. There were soo many of them Ed, I don't know if she even ha-had a weapon or anything!'

'Who are you talking about Lucy?'

'L-Leona'

I felt my body go numb, and my vision black. I turned to Fallon and Saphira,

'Can one of you take me there now?'

Saphira spoke quickly,

'I can'

I climbed on her and looked at my family, Peter was whispering quickly to Susan and Lucy. Probably telling them to go inside,

'I have to find her Pete'

'I know and we're all coming with you'

'No, I cannot let you-'

'She's our friend to Ed, let us help'

I looked at Lucy's tear stained face, with pure determination in her eyes. There was no way of convincing her otherwise now. I sighed,

'Fine'

We all raced through the trees, the dryads quiet for once, it was eerie. We had refused the guards to follow us; we wanted to help Leona on our own. We heard the fight before we even got to the stream, Susan had already got her bow and arrows ready and Lucy was clutching her dagger, ready to throw it.

Peter and I charge first, our swords drawn. But we stop quickly. Surrounding the stream were bodies, a goblin, white tiger, a boggle and a minoboar. Leona was fighting a Werewolf, and apparently winning.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw her wounds, her arms had slashes on them, and her head had a nasty gash on it, but she was standing that was all that mattered. I felt relief for a split second when she was about to stab the Werewolf with the sword she had in her hands, but I saw her falter. The Werewolf had a wand in his hands, _Her_ wand.

Leona fell back to the ground as he swiped it at her, and he kicked the sword away from her. Susan fired and arrow, but the Werewolf dodged, as he turned and snarled at us, Leona yelled,

'Maddok! I thought you were here to settle business with me? Leave them'

But he ignored her and aimed the wand at us,

'Four birds with one stone, with the monarchs gone we can raise our true Queen'.

I got off Fallon quickly, and focused on the way he moved, just like I practised. I edged closer to him as he kept the wand trained on me, Peter quickly got off his horse and went behind Maddok while Susan and Lucy ran to Leona.

'Are you sure you're protecting the right person? Maybe I'm a victim here'

'I'm sure your lying'

'But how? How do you know she's not more dangerous than I am? Maybe I'm doing a favour killing her for you, it would save all the hassle now we know where she is'

'Why do you want to kill her? She has done nothing to you'

'Ohh, she has, she has a lot of enemies little King, and you've made many more today. You should let me kill her, and then we would leave you all alone. Isn't that what you want? The rest of Queen Jadis' followers will tell you the same. Let us kill her, and we'll leave'.

Peter was frowning at me, and motioning to not kill him, but I saw red the second he mentioned killing her. It made my blood boil the thought of her at his mercy so I prepared myself to attack.

But Leona already lunged at Maddok, plunging her sword into his leg, leaving him howling on the ground. She picked up the wand, and I could have swore it glowed the same colour of her eyes the second she touched it, and she sighed, tossing it to Peter,

'You should keep that safe; you could use it to bargain with them'

I rushed over to her when I saw her stumble a little,

'Are you okay?'

'Yes Ed, I have been in a fight before you know'

'You're hurt, at least let's get back to the castle and get you fixed up'.

Susan spoke up,

'We should probably take him with us; we could ask him questions later'

She looked pointedly at Maddok, who was glaring at us all from the ground, Leona's sword still sticking out of his leg. He snarled at us, but Peter kept his sword at his throat,

'You go on Ed, take Lea with you and get her to the medical wing, Lucy you go too. Susan, can you stay with me? Keep your arrows ready in case more come'.

Leona sighed and turned to me,

'There's no point, I can't go back with you'

'And why not?'

'There were seven before, I killed four and Maddok is five, the other two left to tell the rest where I am, they'll attack Cair if they know I'm there'.

'Why do they want you so badly?'

'I have something they want desperately; they want me dead so they can have it for themselves'

I put both my hands on her shoulders and forced her to look at me,

'I will not let them hurt you, even if a whole army comes to Cair, I won't let them touch you'.

She smiled but shook her head,

'There's still no point, too many would die for a pointless reason, and I can't have that'

'It will never be pointless! They would know that they are protecting an innocent from evil'

She whispered,

'But what if I'm not innocent?'

'I don't care what you may have done in the past, to me you have done nothing wrong and I won't let you go to them, if you do them I'll follow you myself and bring you back'.

She looked at me, her eyes burning in the sunlight and pulled me into a hug, wrapping her arms around my neck. I can honestly say she has never looked so beautiful, even with her dress covered in blood and her hair had leaves in it. I never felt like this before, like I could take on a whole army by myself if it meant she was safe. I understood then what Peter meant, what if she was more to me than I crush?

Peter coughed and looking up at him, I saw him mouth 'Aww' at me and I rolled my eyes. He was so typical to ruin the moment. I gently took Lea's hands in mine and pulled her to Saphira, where Lucy was already mounted on her horse and grinning at us.

I helped her onto Saph; although she tried I could see her wince, her wounds looked pretty bad. Keeping hold of her hand I pulled myself up behind her, letting her rest on me.

Peter and Susan were already taking care of Maddok, so I nodded to Lucy and we rode back to Cair. I felt Leona move slightly, her breathing quickening, so I slowed down Saphira into a walk

'You okay?'

'Yes, it doesn't hurt that badly'

I knew she was lying, when our soldiers get attacked by the Witches' followers they end up in recovery for weeks, there was no way she was alright. When we reached Cair Paravel, she still seemed alright but I wasn't taking any chances, so I stayed with her as Lucy went on with the Horses to the stables and Led Leona to the medical wing.

No one was there; it was about 2 so they would be having a break, so I sat her down in a cot and grabbed some bandages and hot water.

'Ohh come on, you don't have to-'

'I don't, but I want to'.

She sighed and let me kneel down beside her and clean her arms. The gashes were long and deep and they would not stop bleeding, so I attempted to put the bandages on and make conversation,

'So, how did you know that Werewolf?'

'Old acquaintance of my father, he never really liked me'.

'Well, I could see _that_, what does your Dad do?'

'He was- sort of a negotiator, he kept the peace where I lived. Everyone loved him'

'Was? What happened to him?'

'He died a long time ago'.

I looked at her, expecting her to be upset, but she was impassive and smiled grimly at me,

'You probably think I'm crazy right?'

'How could you be crazy?'

'Because I'm not upset? I was, believe me I was, but I know he's okay. I spent too long wondering if he was alright to not think that. Plus, Aslan said himself'.

'That's not crazy; I just wanted to make sure you were okay'.

I tightened the bandages on her arms and she winced, blood was already seeping through them. I motioned to fix them but she shrugged my hands away,

'Don't just let them heal now'

So I moved on to her face, gently cleaning the cut above her eyebrow as she watched me. I didn't really know how to cover a cut on someone's head, so I cut up a small section of the bandage and used it to make a sort of huge plaster to cover the wound.

When I was finished I stood up and pulling her with me, made my way to her room.

'Why are we going here? It's 3 in the afternoon!'

'I don't want you running around when you're hurt, just rest for now and we'll see how you are in the morning'

She sighed and turned to go into her room, before quickly turning and kissing me on the cheek,

'Thanks Ed'

She closed the door and I stood there, frozen while the place she kissed on my cheek burned like fire.

**Please review!**

**i'm glad i put in some ed/leona cuteness they had it coming! ;) let me know what you think and any suggestions you have would be greatly appreaciated**

**Lots of love! xxx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 8 – Pranks and Getting Even**

**Leona POV**

In all honesty, I did feel bad about avoiding all of them, especially for a whole week. However, in my defence, the incident with Maddok completely freaked me out. Not only was he alive, he was also in the castle dungeons awaiting trial. And if anyone in the whole of Narnia knew Maddok like I did and weren't afraid at all, then they are either Aslan or insane.

How could I feel bad? I've literally lost count of how many times that guy has tried to kill me; though to be fair I did kill his brother Rye. I guess we're even now anyway. To avoid the awkward conversation and, of course the interrogation, I decided to let the whole situation cool off until after .the competitions, which turned out to be today. I decided the day after the Maddok incident if they asked me outright I would tell them the truth, but I didn't really want to think about that moment. I stretched and rolled out of bed, tumbling past the trays of uneaten food and, getting dressed quickly, pulled the curtains away from the window.

Yep, they stole my spot again, damn Calormenes. Every morning I get up to practise, and ever since they arrived two days ago, they're already there, using _my_ practise swords and daggers I left out last night, using the target _I_ re-stuffed and the bow and arrows _I_ made from an old yew tree. I felt my blood boil and my eyes shifted quickly to a vase across the room. I threw my energy towards it and it shattered in a blast of gold flame.

Ever since I kissed that idiot, my emotions have been all over the place. Im losing it all the time, it's getting ridiculous. I hadn't used my flames in years and in the space of a few days, it's gone from tiny sparks on my fingers to full on flamethrower style. I didn't dare think about overdoing it; I had to control it until I got my wand back, which is under quarantine since I stupidly gave it to Peter. Why in the name of the sweet dryads did I do that?

I stopped myself from blasting more stuff, and closed my eyes, breathing deeply. There you go Leona, breathe. I started to spin slowly in a circle, keeping my breathing controlled. I relaxed and let my hands move outward, I leaned my head back and spun faster; I lifted my head up and opened my eyes. The room spun and I laughed, letting myself fall backwards, until someone caught me from behind.

I jumped about a foot in the air and readied myself for some blasting, but when I turned around I saw it was Lucy,

'That looked soo much fun! Can I try?'

'And when did you come in exactly?!'

'Not too long ago, you just started spinning. Why were you spinning?'

'It calms me down, I don't know why. It helps me let go of stuff that's worrying me'

'Like what?'

'Like the competitions'

Lucy looked at me thoughtfully. She visited me nearly every day, I did my best to avoid her like the rest of the Pevensie's but I swear that girl is a force to be reckoned with. She never brought up my almost confession, well yet anyway, and I'm glad. She isn't going to push me for answers and I respect her for that.

'I know you were going to be amazing today, but, well you see there was kind of a rule change which I think is completely unfair but Prince Rabadash insisted and Peter wanted to appease our guests, you know?'

'What is it?'

'Only royalty and the highest ranking officials can take part'

'Lucy, it's-'

'A complete and utter shambles is what it is! I tried to talk Peter around, I told him you were practising and everything, but Prince Rabadash sticks to Pete, Ed and Su like glue and I never got a chance to talk to them. Ed seems a bit pleased you're not competing but he just knows you'd beat him hands down-'

'Lucy! Calm down. If the rules changed, then there's nothing we can do. It's okay'.

She huffed a little and, eyeing me in case I was lying, sighed and plopped down on the edge of my bed.

'I just feel bad. I know you wanted to prove to Pete and Ed that you could fight, and I wanted to see you show them girls are good at stuff too'

'It's not your fault so don't worry about it, I can beat Peter and Edmund whenever they feel up to it. Why don't we watch it together then? I think it would be more fun'

'Lucy huffed again and flopped down on the bed, her arms flailing,

'...When I say 'take part' I mean attend as well'

'Ohh, well that's okay too, you can tell me all about it after'

'But I want you to come! I'll be stuck with Susan drooling about Prince Rabadash and she doesn't even fancy him! If Peter doesn't allow you to come to the masked ball, then I will refuse to go!'

'Wait, what masked ball? I thought I_ wasn't going to go_'

'Oopps, it was supposed to be a surprise. Susan took one of your dresses and got your measurements and she had one made for you. It's beautiful you'll love it!'

Talk about getting thrown in at the deep end, I thought bitterly. I don't like surprises that much but the thought was there at least. I sat down beside her and fiddled with my hair.

'Do you want to help me pick a dress for breakfast?'

'Are you coming with me today? Well its bout time! I was wondering when you'd come with me I can only cope with Edmund's puppy dog eyes for so long'

'Stop it Lucy. You can't have missed me that much I have only been here a few weeks and you have all been busy.'

'I know! So after the Calormenes leave we are all going to spend a whole day with you! We all want to get to know you better!'

'That sounds great Lucy! Now, what should I wear?'

We spent a good 20 minutes deciding on the dress alone, but we both settled for a sleeveless purple dress with a black lace sash circling my waist and tied in a bow, the ends trailing down my front on one side. I decided to experiment a little and cut two lengths of lace from the underskirt, wrapping them carefully around my forearms and my hands while securing them with tiny matching diamond pins I found in a drawer. I liked my experiment so far and, to finish it off, I made a ring at the top of each, hooked the rings on my middle fingers and studied my creation: a pair of delicate, if slightly odd looking, fingerless gloves.

Lucy adored them and after agreeing to make her a pair for the ball, followed her to the dining room. I knew from the loud guffaws that were echoing along the corridors and Lucy's grimace that Prince Rabadash was already there, so I smiled at Lucy and plastered a smile on my face; I relaxed my hands and turned my stumbling walk into an elegant glide, trying to mimic my Mum whenever important people visited us. I glided forward, wiggling my eyebrows at Lucy who was giggling at my transformation.

She opened the door first and walked in, however I remembered my old etiquette lessons and waited until she was seated before entering the room. I kept my head high and I addressed a broad 'Good morning' to everyone, letting them stare at me before Susan rushed over and hugged me,

'It's soo good you came! We were worried about you and our guests were so eager to meet you as well'

'Thank you Susan, though you shouldn't be worried about me, I'm fine'

She released me and I took a seat opposite Lucy, keen to stay as far away from the top of the table as humanely possible. Peter grinned widely at me and I could tell he was at the end of his tether, so I pulled a face at him and he choked on his juice.

I could feel Edmund's eyes boring a hole in my head, so I turned to him and stuck my tongue out at him. He pretended to cough to cover up his laugh and looked pointedly at Susan's accusing glare. I straightened my back, and nodded once at her, letting her know I remember who else is in the room.

Thankfully, the Prince and his men were too busy whispering between each other to notice my greetings, and I frowned at them. At least they didn't acknowledge me yet, I was hoping they didn't mention my presence at all.

Sadly, my wishes are usually short-lived, and Prince Rabadash spoke to Peter loudly,

'And who is this _woman_ that is permitted to site in the midst of royalty?'

'This is Lady Leona; she is a great friend of ours and a trusted confidante so have no fear'

'_Fear_? For a woman? I think not! I would like to speak with her though'

Peter turned to me and gestured to go up to him, and quickly. But my stubborn brain kicked in and I took my time, straightening my dress and my gloves before 'gliding' up to this pathetic Prince.

I stood beside his chair, eyeing Peter for directions. He mimed kneeling and kissing his finger, so I knelt and bowed my head, keeping my eyes shielded. I saw the Prince's hand move and I lightly kissed the ring on his finger.

I felt defiled, like he was humiliating me on purpose, so I decided to look up into his eyes, letting my large gold ones meet his dark beady ones. I could see my eyes reflect in his and all I saw in his eyes were cold hatred. And shock, of course. He jumped high off his seat, his servants crawling around him, looking at me quickly before darting away.

'What is the meaning of this? A demon! I will not tolerate a demon in my presence, give me my sword!'

With surprising force he tried to swing his sword at my head, though I dodged, but not before letting the blade cut my neck lightly, a trail of blood flowing freely down to my chest. Inwardly I was dying to roll my eyes at this ridiculous person, but I gasped loudly and clamped my hand around my neck, squeezing the cut gently so more blood ran out past my fingers.

I looked down and saw the blood covering my chest and pretended to panic, my eyes wide and my breathing deep. Immediately Susan started screaming and Peter was calling for help. I felt a hand grasp mine and Lucy was beside me, placing her hand on my neck, moving mine away and inspecting the cut gently,

'He cut her a bit, but there's a lot of blood so I'm not too sure..,'

She poked at me a bit more and I let her inspect the cut, dropping the act. She giggled and whispered to me,

'Nice acting, I thought he had actually sliced your neck'

'He cut it!'

'I know but he just cut the muscle, he didn't get any main veins I think'

As he was talking about how lucky I was, I glanced over at Peter, who was yelling frantically at Susan to calm down, I looked for Edmund quickly but I couldn't see him anywhere, until I heard Peter yelling,

'No, Edmund stop!'

He was stupidly, but bravely, taking on the Princes servants to try and get to him, but the Prince was having none of it,

'You get to fight me soon enough, why bother now?'

'Because you tried to kill her!'

Peter grabbed hold of him and was hauling him away when Lucy tapped my shoulder, and giggling, whispered in my ear,

'I have an idea, just follow me'.

**Edmund POV**

She was beautiful, waltzing in like she owned the place, and pulling faces at all of us, I almost forgot the pompous idiot at the top of the table, until I heard him mumble,

'Pretty figure, I wonder what she would look like in Calormene attire. Far too much fabric covering her up'.

I wanted to punch him right there, but I felt Peter stare at me. I would wait for later today. When he attacked her, my heart stopped, all I saw was the blood running down her neck and her wide eyes. I kept fighting them, all the stupid Calormenes with their stupid clothes and weapons, watching each fall as I got closer to Rabadash. If she died I would have his head.

But Peter stopped me, he grabbed me before I could finish off his men and yanked me away, muttering in my ear that she was okay and Lucy was taking care of her until help arrived,

'What about her cordial?'

'It's in her room and we don't have time to get it. Some Fauns are coming now with it'.

I heard Lucy wail, and spinning out of Peter's grasp, turned to see Leona unconscious on the ground and Lucy with her hands clamped around the wound on her neck. I forgot about the Prince and ran; I fell on the floor beside Lea's head. My heart felt like a lead balloon, all I could think of was her eyes, her smile, when I first saw her, when she kissed my cheek. I had never felt like that before, and before I was about to even tell her, I was going to lose her.

I felt Lucy nudge me and look pointedly at Lea, I saw her open those gorgeous eyes and wink at me, before returning to her near dead state. I felt like lifting her up and kissing her for real this time. Relief flowed through me and I saw Lucy smirk at me knowingly before mouthing,

'You love her, right? I had to get you to see that. It was the perfect chance to see how you really felt'

I felt like tackling Lucy but before I could Oreius had arrived and was escorting the Calormenes out of the room to prepare for today. Rabadash took one look at Leona and smirked,

'I should have cut out its eyes and kept them. It was not worthy of such powerful eyes'

But the door closed before I could throw something at him. Susan was hysterical at the blood on the floor, but Lucy fell back laughing and Leona opened her eyes, sitting up and laughing softly. I swore to myself I would never forget her laugh again.

Lucy filled Peter and Susan in on the act, letting them see the cut on Leona's neck and helping her up. She apologised to us all, but tilted her head when she looked at me. She reached for me and wrapped her arms around my neck, while conspicuously wiping tears from my face. I didn't even realise I was crying.

'I didn't mean to scare you'

'It's okay, I'm just glad you're alright'

She let go of me and, grimacing at the blood on her dress, excused herself to go clean up. As soon as she left Lucy blabbed to Peter and Susan that I was crying,

'Aww widdle Eddie's in wove!'

'Shut up Peter!'

'I think it's adorable! So romantic!'

'I thought she was going to die Susan!'

'But she didn't! And now you know you can't live without her!'

I felt like my whole family was ganging up on me, so I groaned and gave up,

'Fine! Okay I might like her like that, but it's not serious or anything; she doesn't even feel the same way!'

Peter clasped his hands over his heart and staggered back a few steps,

'My little brother, actually admitting he's in love. I'm just shocked! Plus you have to tell her, I saw that hug she gave you, it was not nothing'

'Tell her after the competition!'

'You have to tell her! I know she loves you, when I was helping her she kept looking for you in the fight and wouldn't pay attention to me until she saw you. And she had cut her neck so I think that counts as her putting her life at risk for you'

I wish I could believe them, but I seriously doubted that meant anything. I didn't want to tell her, once the storms are over in the North she'll be going home and then what will I do? I can't leave Cair and my duties. I'd rather we left as friends than awkward acquaintances.

'Come on, we have to get ready now'

Peter grabbed me by my shoulders and steered me out of the room. I saw some Fauns run frantically past with Lucy's cordial and I couldn't help but laugh. Of course I loved her; of course I couldn't live without her. I already knew that. I just didn't exactly expect a load of Calormene would help me realise it.

My armour was already neatly laid out, and I got dressed quickly. My thoughts were still full of Leona. I wanted to see her, so I told Peter to go on and I made my way quickly to her room. Should I tell her? Should I just check and see if she is okay? Should I just ask her to give me a favour before I fight?

My heart was pounding and I could feel my hair sticking to the back of my neck already, I knocked on her door and, not hearing a reply, opened the door quietly,

'Lea, I-'

She suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me into her room, closing the door behind me. I noticed she hadn't changed, but the blood on her chest was gone, the cut looked far smaller than I had thought. She caught me staring and and looked at me intently,

'You're going to fight now?'

'Yes, it should start soon'

'Well - good luck'

'Thanks'

We were silent for a moment, before she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. I couldn't think, I just let my body move in one fluid motion. I moved slowly, backing her against the door, my hands on either side of her head. She didn't say anything or try to stop me, and I leant in and whispered in her ear,

'You know, I might die fighting today'

'I seriously doubt that'

'I might, you don't know. Oreius always told me that before a battle, you do the things you've always wanted to do, in case you don't have a chance to do it again'

'So backing me into a door is what you've always wanted to do?'

'Well, not really'

I moved my hands and, placing one on either side of her face, tilting her up towards me. She ran one hand through my hair and placed the other on my chest, I felt her pulse hammering and she looked nervous. I leant in gently and kissed her cheek. She laughed and whispered softly,

'Is that payback for last week?'

'Well, at least you know now I like to get even'

Neither of us moved, her fingers only gently moving some hair out of my eyes. I wanted to stay like this, to not go and fight and just stay with her. But she looked up at me, and I got lost in her eyes. I felt like I was staring at two suns, her eyes were so alive. She held my gaze and locked her hands around my neck. Pulling me towards her she mumbled,

'Get even then'

She kissed me gently, but I quickly pulled her closer and kissed her back with all my feelings from the past few weeks. I was dimly aware of me pulling her towards her bed, deepening the kiss as I sat on the bed. She broke away and smirked before straddling me and I kissed her again, this time more fierce. She opened her mouth with a groan and I let my tongue explore her mouth, I felt her hands tangle in my hair and she pushed me back onto the bed, her tongue battling mine for dominance.

I swear I saw fireworks, and wherever she touches me a trail of fire follows. We break apart and she kisses my neck, biting my skin gently before lightly kissing my mouth again. She pulls away and looks at me, her eyes liquid gold, and I sit up, she blushes and moves to stand up but I hold her, resting her forehead against mine,

'I can't go to this competition not knowing how you feel-'

'I feel that you are going to win, you are going to come back here and enjoy the ball with everyone, and I'll see you there'

'You're coming?'

'Yep, Susan has a surprise dress for me'

'Well, I'm not surprised; wait, don't tell me what it looks like'

'Why not? I don't even know myself'

'I'll be going into a fight with no strategy; just the idea of you in a masquerade dress just takes my breath away'

She punches my shoulder and I feign injury,

'Well, now I can't compete at all!'

Lea just kisses my shoulder then kisses me softly again,

'I think I love you, you muppet'

'I think I love you too'

**And i'm back with a bang! my exams are done so i'll be able to upload a bit more. Review and let me know what you think and any suggestions would be great :) xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 9 – The Truth (Part 1) **

**Leona POV**

I had been fighting with myself all day. As soon as he left to compete I felt like such an idiot, why in the name of sweet Aslan did I do that? What was I thinking? I've put him in more danger than ever and I feel so guilty. What if Maddok's friends come back and hurt him and the others, I would never be able to live with myself. I figured the damage was done now, so there was no point in lying anymore. I promised myself then; if he asked me I wouldn't lie to him.

After all the worrying and the stress, I actually felt butterflies in my stomach when I thought about him, and when I thought of his smile and his eyes I feel so safe and protected. I do love him, but it'll break my heart when he leaves me.

I can hear the cheers and the applause from the arena and its making me uneasy when I hear the sharp snap of lances breaking, so I changed into a flowing dress that was light blue at the top and gradually got darker at the hem, pulling my hair into a bun at the nape of my neck but instead of those stupid heels settled for the boots Lucy gave me when I first got here. I didn't trust any of the Calormenes. I left my room and went for a walk, trying to avoid as many people as possible. I made it outside safely and walked around the castle walls.

I ended up in a clearing by the castle, surrounded by trees and flowers, some dryads were singing loudly to cover up the groans of the injured from the infirmary tent nearby. I remembered the tune and hummed along as I walked toward them. They all smiled and beckoned me, one saying,

'Not many know our songs, Aslan told us you were coming, my Lady. I am Hazel '

'Hello, thank you I didn't know Aslan told anyone about me, I'm Leona'

'He needed us to look after you in case you needed us'

She quickly looked around at the other dryads and they nodded at her, a branch broke not too far away and all of their heads whipped toward the sound in unison. If it hadn't been so quiet I would have laughed. Hazel turned back to me again and whispered,

'Follow me quickly, you need to hear this'

She darted into the brush and I followed, trying to be as stealthy as her, but with not much luck. I was always the clumsy one. She kept moving until she stopped behind a huge oak tree, its trunk so wide I could stand beside Hazel and still not be seen. She put her finger to her lips and pointed at a group of shadows in front of us. I would recognise those snobby voices anywhere; it was a group of Calormenes.

'But, my prince, won't they notice you are gone?'

'Nonsense! They would not notice if I was gone for a full day the lazy creatures! No, I told the two Queens I was taking a respite from exhaustion, the journey to this forsaken place has _tired_ me greatly-'

The group chuckle and Prince Rabadash continues,

'Anyway, I have time now to plan ahead. The older King- what is his name? Ahh yes _Peter_-well he is the obvious champion of today, unless that other pathetic excuse for a King manages to get on his horse-'

I felt my hands clench and I narrowed my eyes, he'd gone way to far insulting all of them. Hazel grabbed my forearm and looked at me, shaking her head and nodding in their direction. I nodded and continued to listen,

'-and we cannot afford to waste any more time. When that beast approached me with the deal I was initially revolted. However, now I have arrived I seem to agree with his wise words, this country should not be ruled by those barbarians, but by the true rulers of Narnia! We will not tolerate these imposters. The beast Maddok has arranged an army from the North, and while our forces are already stationed in the South, they shall be moving into Narnia by tonight. We shall have them by surprise! They won't know until the two armies attack, and Narnia will belong to Calormene!

The men around him cheered and laughed and I turned to Hazel, completely freaking out that Maddok had a second plan the entire time, and whispered,

'What are we going to do?'

'We wait until they leave'

But Rabadash was still boasting about his great victory, I felt complete rage fill me and I was about to blast the whole group to the Lone Islands, when he mentioned me,

'-if only I could find that demon with those disgusting yellow eyes. Maddok said she was important. In fact, guaranteeing her survival in the attack is the only thing he wanted, all he said was, 'Keep the girl with the gold eyes alive, and you can have Narnia and all it's worth, just don't harm her', why the beast would want a disgrace for a young woman I will never know'

'Should we head back now, my prince? We could not miss the final joust of the day'

'Ohh fine then, I would just hope his horse doesn't fall and crush the great _King_'

The group walked off laughing and Hazel turned to me,

'You have to warn them immediately. They won't keep anyone alive'

I nodded, turned back towards the castle, and ran.

**Edmund POV**

I was doing well in the jousting, but half of the time I was wasn't even paying attention. All I could think about was that Lea was waiting for me. When I thought about her my heart sped up, and all I could see is her eyes twinkling mischievously and her gentle smile. Peter waved his hand in front of my face,

'Hello? Earth to Edmund? Pay attention would you, oh for Aslan's sake-'

He punched me hard on the arm, leaving me yelping and clutching the bruised spot,

'Hey! What's your problem?'

'You haven't been listening to me for the past ten minutes, what's up with you?'

'Ohh nothing, sorry'

'That's okay; I figured your just concentrating anyway'

'Yeah, that's it, I was concentrating'

Susan eyed me suspiciously and Lucy was giggling,

'You were thinking about Leona weren't you?'

'What? Honestly Su, what gave you that idea?'

'You mouth was hanging open, you looked like a goldfish'

'Gee, thanks Lucy!'

They both laughed and started whispering to each other. Damn it, that's never good. Peter raised his eyebrows at me,

'Did something happen?'

'What do you mean by 'something'?'

'You told her didn't you?'

'Told her what?'

'You like her you idiot!'

'Um...I-I might have...'

He grinned and clapped me across the back,

'Seriously Peter, pack it in, I'll be black and blue before I even go out there'

'Knew you were going to do it, you too are good together'

'Really?'

'Yes, now hurry up and get out there, they're calling you out next'

I ran out of the box and around the tents, attempting to make it in time, when someone collided with me around the corner,

'Oww, hey what're you doing- Lea?'

Lea was sprawled on the floor in front of me, dazed and frantic. I grabbed her wrists and pulled her up, but she tackled me in a hug and whispered quickly in my ear,

'Don't trust any of the Calormenes, something's going on'

'What is it?'

'I have to find out, finish the competition and meet me with Peter, Susan and Lucy. It's really important'

'Sure, no problem. It's going to be okay, alright?'

'I know, but just be careful, okay?'

I smiled and hugged her before she pulled away quickly,

'I have to go, I'm not allowed in the grounds'

'Well, where should we meet you?'

'...Near the dungeons, the Calormenes haven't gone near there the entire time they've been here'

I let her go then, watching her melt into the crowd. I hear my name being called again and I rushed to find Philip. I hoped she was just joking, though I've never seen her look so scared before.

**Leona POV**

I couldn't tell him what I heard with so many people lurking about, so arranging to meet is probably to easiest way. From what I heard, if Ed won that joust then he was up against Peter in the final round, so I didn't have much time to wait about. I had to find the treasury, quickly.

I started near Mum's painting, searching the walls for the symbol, the tiny apple tree engraved in the solid stone that would lead me to it. I remember drawing the treasury, and I remember the statues of Mum and Dad being built, so it was only a matter of time before I found it. I heard the lances break and a cheer ring out through the castle; I didn't have much time left. I was desperate, scrambling through the corridors frantically pushing aside paintings and drapes until, yes! I finally found it.

I ran my fingers over the delicate marking and pushed the stone into the wall. The doorway slowly opened and I could see the tunnel, with steps leading deep under the castle. I concentrated on the torches and they all lit in one gold spark. At least now I knew where to find it, now it was time to face Maddok. If they start questioning me about the treasury I have to keep Maddok quiet. He'll just twist the truth and they'll never believe me.

I pulled the door back and covered it with the draping, the golden lion staring at me. I took a second, taking a deep breath. Keep calm Lea, you were sent here to help them. Do your job and obey Aslan's will. I made it to the dungeons quite easily before I heard a creak behind me. I jumped about a foot in the air and glanced around, my heart beating fast in my chest and my hand ready to draw the dagger in my boot. I didn't see anyone, so I just decided that I was being too paranoid for my own good and opened the door, quietly going on down the grey stone steps.

The guards were asleep on the other side of the dungeon when I crept up to Maddok's cell, so I concentrated on them and now they were nearly comatose, now I could talk without anyone hearing and they would wake up in a few hours from a lovely deep sleep. I pulled my dagger out and poked his sleeping form with the hilt, and his eyes were unfocused and groggy when they locked on mine,

'Haha, well, I can't say wasn't expecting you Little Lioness'

'When does your questioning start?'

He growled at me, moving his face closer to the bars, the security here was rock solid, they had manacled his paws to the wall and filed his claws, so we both knew it was pointless to threaten me.

'Ohh, yes, the King holds his council meetings right down here so I can give my input on my trial-'

'Enough Maddok! ...What will it take to keep y-you quiet about m-me and e-e-everything?'

His eyes widened and then changed to a sneer,

'And why should I help you exactly? When have you done me any favours?'

'I saved your life a long time ago; I hope you can remember that? Well, you didn't exactly repay me very well then, so repay me now'.

He chuckled and scratched behind his ear with his back leg, eyeing me thoughtfully,

'I repaid you with the best I could do at the time, the Witch-'

'You told the Witch everything! You sold me out to her after she got my wand back! You knew the safe house and you told her where I was!'

'I believe it was you who gave her the wand in the first place, so I doubt bringing that thing into this will get you anywhere'

I glared at him, trying to weigh my options, this wasn't going anywhere and I couldn't sit and negotiate all day but Maddok sniffed and snarled,

'Fine'

'Fine what?'

'Fine, I'll keep quiet, but not because of the whole wand business'

'What for then? How do I know you aren't just lying to me?'

'It's because I want to know how long it takes them to find out, you look like your Dad so it's a wonder they haven't figured it out yet. And you wonder why She always said the children of Adam and Eve were unintelligent creatures'

I snapped then, whacking the hilt of my dagger on his nose,

'They are not unintelligent! They know a great deal more about ruling fairly that your precious Queen'

'Then why are you lying to them? If they are so kind, and gracious and good, then why don't you just tell them you started all of this? I know you made that deal with Her kid, I know you sacrificed a lot to give them more time before the Winter, and you know the Trees still weep for you.

But you betrayed the King and Queen; you went against their direct commands and almost started a war. You know She only took Narnia under Her power when the spell broke so that she could find you'.

He looked at me intently, his eyes searching mine for a reaction, so I gave him none. He gave up and continued,

'If you think for one second that they'll let you live when they see what you are and who you betrayed, then you're kidding yourself so, I'll help you. Only if you answer this question though, it's been on my mind since last week. Why did you come back?'

I sat back on my heels and let what he said sink in, I was shocked as only the Trees and Aslan knew what I did. Except the Witch of course but I would never have thought Maddok knew about any of that, my parents made sure no one knew what I was or what I did when I was little.

'I came back to Narnia because it was Aslan's will. And by the way, you're wrong on a few things. One, I didn't betray them. I was seven, I didn't know the whole deal with the Tree of Protection yet and if I could go back and change all of that I would, and you know I would. Second, I will tell them, but I can't right now. It would be too much for them, so I'm waiting until Aslan tells me it's the right time.

Plus I heard Prince Rabadash is ordering a full scale attack and you have Her forces in the North. I know the attack is tonight and I know you're involved'

I got up and made my way back towards the stairs, but a thought came to my head and I turned back to him,

'Since when did you get so damn smart?'

'After you...disappeared...your Dad told me the truth about your little adventure with the Witch, when She retreated into solitude to find you, I served your father. After he died, I left and headed North. It was only when the Winter fell that I returned, and She recruited anyone she could find that could defend themselves'.

'Then why did you help Her in the first place if his death was so hard for you?'

'You're not the only one who had a family in danger once, kid'.

'..I swear I will do all I can to help you with your trial Maddok. If my Dad trusted you...well, then I guess I do to, how about a truce?'

'...Fine, but don't expect me to do you any more favours'

He snorted and for once I saw the Wolf may have actually changed. He used his teeth to pull his cloak around him, shivering lightly and he looked at me grimly,

'Your Father was the only true friend that I trusted with my life, and I miss him, but those kids who are trying to hail the 'Golden Age' know nothing of this country's past, they know nothing of the time before the Winter fell upon us, and the sacrifices we all made. We are the only ones left, and eventually we will fade into Narnia's history too. We can't let people forget what happened to beings like us. Tell them soon, otherwise they will never accept you, Little Lioness'.

I turned to walk away, I didn't have much time left until everyone entered the castle to prepare for tonight's ball, but a thought came to my head and I turned and smiled at him sadly, letting gold flames curl around my fingertips I heated the cell around him, warming him as best as I could,

'I know we are the last ones, but we can't dwell on things we can't change. Trust that Aslan has his plans for us, and we can just wait for our time to come. But I hope they never have to know what those books in the library never said'.

**Edmund POV**

My muscles were rigid. I couldn't breathe; my lungs had given up on me. Her whole story, she had lied about all of it? What are they if they have lived since before the Winter, and what was the deal she made with the Witch? How could she betray her own family?

These questions bounced around in my head, and until I was certain she was gone and the wolf was asleep, did I creep out of my hiding place, with Peter, Susan and Lucy in tow. They were in as much shock as I was. We had all thought she was our friend. I thought she actually loved me, what an idiot. I was about to go back up the steps when the wolf mumbled,

'Just because you all know some of it, doesn't mean you know the whole story. I wish someone told me that before I jumped to conclusions, you especially King Edmund'

'Who said I'm jumping to anything?'

'You look like someone ripped out your heart and stomped on it right in front of you, and I have a sensitive nose, I knew you were all there'.

Peter sniffed and eyed the Werewolf in distaste,

'Why didn't you say anything when she was here?'

'Because she needs people like you to help her, she knows she can't do it alone but she's too afraid to tell you all the truth, so I'm giving you all a push start. Don't let me down'.

'But why won't she just tell us? What the hell is going on?'

'Like I said you don't know the whole story and its best not to say to her until you work out the rest of it. Plus, I know you all care about her'.

Susan nudged me and I turned to face her, Lucy had tears in her eyes and she looked so sad,

'She was going to tell me something before Maddok attacked, I didn't want to push her or anything after we got back, so I just waited until she was ready'

I put my hand on her shoulder and eyed Susan, she looked downright murderous,

'Why should we help her? We should have her arrested for treason'.

But Maddok interrupted her, his voice sharp,

'Ahh, but how can you convict someone of treason when the person they betrayed has been dead 900 years?'

I faltered. How could she be alive all that time? What wasn't she telling me?

'Aww kids, come on at least cheer up a little. Just because she didn't tell you it doesn't mean she doesn't trust you. She trusts those who prove themselves to her, which is why she doesn't trust me. I hurt her once, I sold her out and she never forgave me for it.'

Lucy spoke up then, her eyes brimming with tears,

'Why was there fire in her hands?'

'Well...I don't know about it much, I just know she sacrificed a lot to learn it. Aslan blessed her when she was born you know, that's why her eyes are gold'

'Why would he make her eyes gold?'

'Honestly I don't know if it was intentional or not, but there was a prophecy once, written in the Deep Magic, I forget the words but Aslan stated to the First King and Queen on the day of their coronation that the first girl to be born in Narnia will save us all. Leona was born in the morning a few years later and her eyes were dark blue, but on the sunset of that day the kid's eyes shone gold and they stayed that way. She was always kind of...different after that'

But Susan wasn't satisfied with his answers,

'So, why did she betray her family?'

'Look, kid, there's only a certain amount I can tell you, the rest either I don't know or I swore in front of the Stone Table that I would not say again. Find out for yourself or wait and when she's ready, she'll tell you it all herself. But when she does, be ready, because she'll need you the most then, and that's what I'm counting on'.

Peter was still suspicious of the Wolf, he stood up straight, his muscles tense and ridged,

'The Witch's Forces will attack soon and she'll have to help us, wont she?'

'What did I just say about jumping to conclusions? She doesn't just help you because she's there, she'll help you if you need her too. I have a plan, and yes, the Calormenes are involved. Eventually it'll all make sense, just keep a close eye out tonight'

I felt so betrayed and used I wanted to curl up on the floor right then, but anger filled me instead and I lashed out,

'Why should we have to wait for the truth? She said herself she betrayed her own family, how can we trust her to tell us the truth anyway?'

'Then how can you keep secrets from her? You betrayed Narnia as well and the people forgave you. Why should you treat her like she's worse than you ever were?'

I felt like he punched me in the gut. Peter went to draw his sword but Lucy stopped him, Susan just stood there, livid with anger and hurt. I think we all felt the same at that point. I turned to them all,

'We don't know anything, if she asks, say nothing. Lie if you have to. We need to know if we can trust her. Get guards tailing her at all times, wherever she goes we need to know.'

Susan spoke then,

'We need to keep an eye on her tonight at the ball, me and Lucy will stay with her and get ready, you both dance with her or keep her in your sight at all times'

Peter nodded in agreement,

'From this point on, she is regarded as a traitor of Narnia'

And my heart finally broke.

**Leona POV**

I didn't realise how long I took talking to Maddok, because as soon as I left the dungeon and went to check on the treasury entrance, I heard Lucy calling me. I headed back towards the dungeon and there they all were, but something was wrong. Their smiles were too...plastic. Peter looked like he was wrestling with himself, twitching occasionally, Lucy looked sad, like she was about to cry, Susan looked like she was going to kill someone and Ed looked like someone told him he only had a day to live.

Their expressions were too false, but I smiled back and greeted them, while searching through their heads at the same time,

'Sorry for calling all of you here'

Peter's voice was taut and proper, like it was when I first met him,

'That's alright, what did you want to say to us?'

I analysed Peter's mind, but all I got was one sentence over and over again,

_Tell us the truth, you traitor._

Maddok, what did you do? I searched everyone else quickly; Susan's only thoughts were how far away her bow and arrows were and,

_I can't believe she lied to us all this entire time._

Lucy was on the verge of tears,

_Tell them Lea; I knew you were going to tell me something important. Hurry, do it now or they'll never let you leave._

But Edmund's thought hurt the most,

_I can't believe I loved _her. _Why did it have to be her?_

They can't know the whole story, they just can't. It's impossible. They must have been hiding in the dungeon when I was talking to Maddok. They just think they know what happened. Alright Aslan, some advice now would be good. But nothing, the Great Lion decides to leave me now.

So, I play it dumb and looked around in case anyone is listening,

'I was out for a walk this morning and some dryads were singing, I followed them but Prince Rabadash was with a group of Calormenes and they were saying how they teamed up with Maddok. The Witches Forces are waiting in the North and the Calormenes have an army in the South, they plan to attack tonight'

I should have guessed they wouldn't believe me. But to see their eyes glaze over while I speak was pretty rude. Peter looked at me sympathetically,

'Prince Rabadash didn't leave the arena once today, he was with Susan and Lucy the entire time-'

'But he said he told them the journey here tired him so he wanted a rest'

Susan looked miffed,

'We sent him into the castle for rest, his men went with him'

'But did any Narnian guards go with him?'

'No, how is that relevant?'

'Because his guards could be in on it too, and help him slip away'

I was being completely reasonable but then Ed just had to ruin my argument,

'You ran into me when I was going to joust-against Prince Rabadash. How could you have heard him make plans for war when I saw him right after I saw you?'

'Because I had to wait until they all left before I could go warn you!'

'We have guards stationed at the North, if there was any activity we would have heard from them, the same in the South. Are you questioning our security in Narnia?'

'No, I just-'

'Then what?'

I felt my anger rise and I was tempted to let my flames curl up my hands, but I knew that would be pointless. After the Witch, more than likely they banned witchcraft in any shape or form, so to use my magic is a death sentence. The only thing I could do now is follow along.

'Nothing, I guess I'm just worried. I don't like them very much'

I looked at the ground and then back at them all, working the old I-feel-so-stupid-please-forgive-me look. Susan's eyes softened and Lucy smiled at me, but Peter and Edmund were still unforgiving, so I opted to retreat, for now anyway.

'I'm sorry about all of that; I'll just go back to my room. Everyone will be looking for you'

I turned and walked back to my room, tears starting to spill. Why did they have to find out now? Now, when I need their trust more than anything? I heard footsteps clatter behind me and Susan and Lucy barrelled towards me,

'We want to help you get ready'

'You haven't seen your dress yet!'

I let them drag me into my room, knowing I would have to tell them the truth now, or die a traitor later.

Lucy sat me down and started my makeup, and Susan curled my hair and let it fall down to my waist. Susan left to get our dresses and Lucy asked me to plait her hair. I did it slowly, gently weaving her hair together and placing small glittery flower clips in it as well. When I was done she twirled and pranced around the room gracefully, while Susan returned with three long dresses in hand.

Lucy's was pale blue, with dark blue flowers circling her waist, when she moved the dress literally shimmered. Her mask was plain and glittered, with a blue rose on one side. Susan's dress was a deep purple, with intricate beading and tight sleeves to her wrists. Her mask was also purple, but one half was plain and the other, in a diagonal streak was pure small purple diamonds. I tried not to look at mine too much; I only saw that it was pale gold. I slipped into it and the material fit me perfectly.

The dress was strapless and the design plain. The only design in it was the material that was wrapped in a bandage style around my chest and my waist, letting the material fall to the floor in a pale gold sweep. Small silver glitter pieces were added to sections, and when Lucy put a mask over my face Susan pulled some curls back to hide the ribbon that held it to my head.

I turned to mirror, and I had transformed. The mask wasn't like Lucy or Susan's, it was a gold lioness mask with swirling designs in the ears and the cheeks. I actually lived up to my old nickname then, and I never felt braver. I turned to Lucy and Susan who were celebrating their success, and said,

'You need to know something, it's important'

'They stopped dancing and stared at me, Lucy's eyes full of concern and Susan's mistrust,

'What is it?

'Yes, are you okay?'

'You know what I am, don't you?'

Susan sniffed and tugged on her dress,

'If you mean a witch, then yes'

'But do you know who I am?'

Susan looked confused and Lucy shook her head and finally asked,

'Who are you Lea?'

I felt a gentle breeze in the room though the windows weren't open, and Aslan spoke gently,

_Now child. It is time_

I felt proud of who I was right then, so I faced them both, the two Queens of the Golden Age, and answered,

'I am the daughter of King Frank and Queen Helen, the First King and Queen of Narnia. I am Leona of Lantern Waste, Princess of Narnia'

**all i can say is i am sooo sorry! i made this chapter long to make up for it. but Leona's secret is out! i am very excited about the next chapter as i included a huge flashback to Leona's past that explains a lot. if you have any questions let me know and i would be happy to explain. and thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited my story. it really means a lot!**

**read and review please! x**


	10. Chapter 10

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 10 – The Truth (Part2)**

**Leona POV**

I felt so exposed, like they could see everything about me just from that one sentence. Susan and Lucy just stared at me, so I took off my mask and sat on my bed, careful not to ruin my dress,

'Would you like me to tell you the whole story, well, the parts I can tell you at least?'

The both nodded in unison, still not saying a word to me, so I launched straight into my story.

Narnia - Year 17

I'm seven, with my hair in two ponytails high on my head where my small crown is perched precariously. My brothers are trying to teach me how to use a wooden sword, but it's too hard. I have to place one foot there, my other foot there, and try to stab the big scary dummy. Eventually I get it right, and Col cheers, but Theo and Frank look sad and they hand Col over some money each. I think they were betting on me. Weirdo's.

They are all older than me, Frank just turned 15, Theo is 13 and Col is 10. Daddy takes them out riding and teaches them to fire arrows and swing swords and knives about, that looks far more fun than Mummy teaching me music, dance and all the different spoons there are to eat with. I have been begging Daddy to teach me for ages, but he says I'm too young, but Frank said he could use a bow when he was 7! It's unfair, so when my brothers get ready to leave to get their horses for a ride out in Lantern Waste, I get a small bow and some arrows and try to copy what Theo does.

Check the stringy thing, make sure it's tight. Okay, then get and arrow, keep it on the edge of the string. Next, raise the bow up to your face, and keep pulling the string and the arrow back. My arms start to hurt and I aim at the dummy. I narrow my eyes and concentrate hard, letting the arrow go. My hands feel all warm and tingly and the arrow zooms straight. Whack! It hits the dummy in the forehead. I grin and try again, this time the arrow hits where the dummy's heart is. Theo would call that a bullseye.

'Leona!'

Uh oh. Daddy is coming towards me, I hold the bow tight, I was only trying it. I think excuses in my head, but none are good.

'Great shot, sweetie! You have a real knack for aim. I wonder if I get the right sword, if you would fare well. You're more graceful than the boys, so you could probably get away with more risky moves. Your style will be soo different. Ohh, I'm going to have soo much fun training you!'

He picked me up and whirled me around in circles until I giggle, he puts me on his shoulders and walks back up to our home. I told Daddy we should live in a castle by the sea, because Daddy is a King, and I drew it too, the huge towers and the walls, secret rooms and huge stairways with big banisters you can slide down on. And a huge library full of books up to the ceiling and huge windows everywhere, but the only place Aslan said we had to build is a throne room with four thrones in it, because the Deep Magic says that four people will save Narnia one day and will all reign together. I hope Daddy can teach them how to use a wooden sword like he taught Frank, he can fight actual centaurs!

Daddy sets me down on the ground and puts his hand under his chin, stroking his imaginary beard. He does this all the time when he's thinking really hard about something.

'Would you like to come with me on Fledge today?'

Ohh Fledge! The big beautiful horse that can fly! How could I say no?

'Yes, yes, yes!'

So Daddy scoops me up and takes me to where Fledge is waiting, ready to fly.

'Good morning Your Majesty. Little Princess, how are you?'

'I'm gonna come with Daddy and you today!'

'Are you? Well, hop on and let's get going'

Daddy plopped me behind Fledge's huge wings and he climbed up behind me,

'We're going to our coronation spot Fledge, near the Tree'

Fledge took off, me squealing in delight and clutching his mane tightly, though I think I was hurting him he didn't say anything. Fledge danced over the tops of trees, and when I looked up the sky seemed like it would never end. I felt like I could fly forever, I didn't want it to stop. But it did end, and Fledge landed with a soft thud.

Daddy jumped off and lifted me up on his shoulders again, letting Fledge roll around on the grass and relax. Daddy walked away, moving towards a huge apple tree that looked soo strong and tall. Daddy pointed to the tree,

'This is the Tree of Protection. It guards us from the Witch, until the time comes when the Tree's power fades, She cannot step on this earth. Me and Mummy were crowned King and Queen on the second day of Narnia's existence, and I met the Witch during that time. We must do all we can to protect the Narnians from the Witch, she is evil and dangerous, do you understand?'

'Yes Daddy, you protect everyone from the mean witch'

Daddy chuckled and set me down on a branch in the Tree,

'You have a great destiny to fulfil, your Mummy told you about Aslan's blessing on you, right? What was it again?'

'That one day I will save Narnia, but at a great price. My eyes are gold because they are a reminder to everyone of the hope and love that Aslan has for us all, and he blessed me to see through darkness and into the light, Daddy I know all of this already!'

'Your Mother really made you memorise all of that?'

'Why else to I want you to teach me? You're more fun!'

'That may be true, but your Mother has her own way of teaching, and I have mine. She taught the boys too when they were your age so don't worry. I'll teach you to defend yourself when you're ready, I promise'

Satisfied with Daddy's promise, I asked him if I could go for a walk,

'Alright Little Lioness, just be careful'

I skipped away from Daddy and Fledge, into the trees. The dryads came out to play, so we danced and sang and skipped together. But then they were all gone. The trees were dark and I couldn't see the sun. I cried out for Daddy and Fledge but no one came. I was alone.

But then I heard it, a soft voice, a woman's voice, calling me,

'Come to me child, I'll help you'

So I followed the kind voice, and through the trees a little, in a clearing, was a beautiful woman. Her arms were outstretched and she looked happy to see me. I concentrated and trusted my eyes, not moving anywhere near her. I knew she was the Witch Daddy told me about.

'What do you want, Witch?'

'To the point, I see. Like your Father in every way'

The air was cold, I felt my arms go numb, but my hands stayed warm. I concentrated on my warm hands and they got hotter, warming the rest of me. I felt better, but I was still afraid. My heart was beating fast as the woman started to frown and the air got even colder, but I didn't let myself get cold.

'Funny, why did you call me a Witch like it was a bad thing?'

'Because it is a bad thing'

'Really? Well, if _I'm_ so bad, then why don't I make you an offer?'

She waved her hand and a circle of ice appeared, showing Fledge and Daddy surrounded by scary looking monsters.

'Daddy!'

'My offer is quite simple, child. Join me and I let them go'

'I can't! You're the Witch! Aslan said you were evil'

'Well, that is true, but if you say so...'

She swirled her hand again, this time the image changed to Mummy, Frank, Theo and Col surrounded by the scary monsters too. I saw Frank had a cut on his cheek and Col's eye was bruised.

'What's it going to be?'

'If...if I say yes, you'll let them go?'

'Cross my heart'

'How long do I stay with you?'

'Ten years. Ten years and then you may return home'

I didn't have a choice. I had to protect them.

'Yes'.

As I told my story, Susan and Lucy gradually thawed out, sitting on the bed next to me and listening to every word I said. When I finished, Susan asked,

'You did make a deal with her, then?'

'I thought that if I could save my family, then that would make it all okay. I just didn't know the images were fakes. I had managed to wander out of the Tree's range and She was waiting for me. I fell for the trap and my family thought I just disappeared. After a while they just assumed I was dead'

Lucy looked teary again, so I grabbed a handkerchief and passed it to her. She gulped and asked,

'Didn't you try to escape?'

'I would have broken the deal and then She would have used me as bait to kill them. I couldn't let that happen. So, I went along with it. She didn't stop me from keeping an eye on them, sometimes I managed to send Mum a message but everyone else lost hope, Mum was the only that believed I was still alive'.

Susan still wanted more answers, but I knew this was hard for them to digest so I let them ask,

'What did she do to you?'

'Remember I told you about how I kept myself warm from the cold air? Well, Aslan didn't just bless me with gold eyes; my eyes are a sign that I can use Magic. She knew when I protected myself from her Magic and she spent eight years teaching me'.

'But, why?'

'She wanted to gain my support. If she could get me on her side, then I would be able to defeat my family and let her take the throne. Plus I knew all her dirty tricks with Magic, so if I didn't join her then I would know how to beat her. Who do you think sealed her Magic with that wand?'

'You did that?'

'Yes. Originally it was mine, I couldn't control my ability most of the time and I literally exploded stuff every time I lost my temper. So I asked her for something to store it in. I put a spell on it so that when she used it it would seal her powers and if it was broken then she could be defeated'

Susan looked actually impressed with me, and Lucy was still dabbing her eyes. She caught me looking and sniffed,

'I'm sorry, it's just we judged you so harshly, I couldn't stand being in her castle, let alone her presence for eight years. We all thought you betrayed us for stupid stuff'

'Umm...Lucy I did betray them. I went past the Tree, I didn't listen and I made a bargain with a Witch. Even if I got out if our deal, I could never go back'

'But-'

'She's right, Lucy. Lea would have been arrested for fraternising with the Witch for soo long. For all they knew she could be on the Witch's side.'

I let the information sink in, but Lucy started asking more questions,

'But you didn't stay for the ten years, what happened?'

'That's kind of another story'

Narnia – Year 25

I was fifteen, being circled by hags and forced to wear over the top white dresses to suit Jadis' taste. That's what I had to call her, by her real name. She treated me well; I wasn't in a cell or a dungeon. Just a small room with a bed and a wardrobe. I never starved, and I practised magic every day. But I hated it. I wanted to go home. I wanted to see my family. To see if the parts I remember are actually real, and not just my imagination. To know they're still out there, waiting for me, filled me with hope.

But that hope was dashed when a hag stuck me with a needle by accident. She shrieked apologies, and if Jadis hadn't been there, I would have shrugged it off, but I had to put on a show. I grasped my wand and spoke coldly,

'You dare make your Queen's apprentice bleed? Why should I bleed just for you pitiful excuses?'

I pointed my wand at the hag, and in a gold flash she was gone, added to my ever growing collection of stone statues that resided outside Jadis' growing fortress. Jadis clapped and the other hags left, she walked over to me and straightened my back, pulling my chin up and forcing me to turn around to face myself in the mirror.

There I was, the Little Lioness, gone cold. My eyes had no spark anymore, my voice cold and harsh. I had to learn to be like her in order to survive, to keep my family alive. And I had done a perfect job. It was almost too perfect. We would have passed for mother and daughter; I had copied her glare and her walk exactly until I was unconsciously becoming her. I was exactly what she wanted and more.

'Soon you will be ready, and those imposters shall rue the day they cast us out'

'Yes Jadis, we shall make them suffer'

'Good my dear, no go. I have business to attend to with Maddok. Do as you please until I send for you'

Those were the moments I cherished, the moments when I could escape. I walked stiffly out of the room and ran the rest of the way outside, around the edge of the fortress until I reached a chained Griffon, his name was Featherfly, and he was a captured Narnian, my only friend.

I pulled the sword hidden within the ice, letting my magic heat the icy cold metal asi swung it over my head. Featherfly snorted and whispered,

'I heard some news today'

'What is it?'

'Your Theo won the archery competition. He hit ten bullseyes in one round'

'Sounds like him, anything else?'

'Your Father completed the treasury, it's said he made it exactly like you drew it when you were little'

'Yes, I remember that little'

'Also, the Witch let me out to fly yesterday'

'Really? I thought she wouldn't let you the last time you asked'

'I convinced her my wings were freezing and I was no use to her with my wings crippled so she complied. I was tethered and I could just about make it to the Tree. You Father left something this year for the anniversary of your disappearance'

He used his claw and delicately pulled a long brown belt from underneath his broad belly. I remembered my Father's sword in that scabbard, the dryad etched patterns into the worn leather. I couldn't wear it in front of Jadis, so I gave it back to Featherfly and he stashed in with the other clothes I had been gathering. I long red dress with gold in it, old slippers and a dagger. I had been preparing for 3 years. Today was the day.

'I'll be back tonight. Remember the plan?'

'Of course, Princess. Though you have been waiting for this longer than I have. Why now of all times? You still have two years left of the deal'

'It took me a while to figure this out, but I made the deal with her outside of the Tree's Protection, once we're inside it, the deal doesn't affect me anymore'

'Genius as always Princess'

'As long as you remember the way to the Tree, we can make it back home'

'And if She starts a war?'

'I'll be ready for her'.

Featherfly chuckled at my confidence and snuggled down to go back to sleep. I had better go rest as well. We had a long night ahead of us.

The whole day I didn't know what to do with myself. Jadis had be practise for four hours straight so I ended up beating 20 of her best guardsmen easily. She actually looked surprised that time,

'You are doing well. Your concentration today is excellent. You may go do as you please for the rest of the day'

'I went back to y room and rested, stretching my muscles and twirling my wand around. A knock on the door sent my nerves on end, but it was Maddok,

'You ready, kid?'

'Yes, everything is ready',

'And the Griffon?'

'He's resting for now'

'You have everything you need?'

'Yes, clothes, my wand, everything'

'Where is the safe house again?'

'The clearing just on the edge of the Northern border. We'll wait for you there and then we'll head on to see my family and get help'

'Good, see you then. Good luck'

I was so thankful Maddok wanted to help us escape; the only thing he wanted was for us to bring him and his brother Rye along. The four of us, the lost Princess, the Griffon and the two Werewolves, escaping back to Narnia again.

That night I snuck out and headed to Featherfly, where he was alert and ready, waiting for me. I quickly changed into the clothes I stashed. I slipped the dagger up my sleeve,

'Ready Princess?'

'We're both ready'

I melted the chain around his neck and climbed onto his back. He took off quickly; keeping close to the trees in case a guard saw us. I remember flying once, but I always figured it was a dream. Now here I was, flying on a Griffon to my family. Hope and freedom soared through me as we reached the clearing with no problems, and we sat and waited for Maddok and Rye.

We waited for a long time, too long. Featherfly was panicking, begging me to go on and bring my Father's army to help Maddok and Rye. I promised them I'd wait, and I couldn't just leave them, they needed us to help them. The sun started to rise and I was beginning to panic as well, when I heard a rustle on the other side of the clearing. Maddok emerged, grinning. He looked scary, his eyes filled with malice, and he howled and called out,

'I found them, my Queen'

Jadis' sleigh pulled into the clearing and she pointed her hand at Featherfly, before I could block the attack he was stone, his eyes still filled with pure terror. While I stared at the statue, rigid with grief and tears pouring down my face, Maddok grabbed me and pulled my wand from my grasp, using it to smash Featherfly's statue into pieces. Jadis eyed me smugly and I forced myself to glare at her. If I will die now, I'll die without giving her any satisfaction in my weakness. I will stare her down until the last second. I will not let her see any fear.

I blasted her sleigh to pieces, letting the flames form a Griffon, he ruined the sleigh. He looked just like Featherfly and he let out a happy screech and stretched his wings out wide before the flames died out. Jadis' glare turned the air frosty, and I let my skin heat up, burning Maddok's paw, I pulled the dagger from my sleeve and stabbed him through the heart.

As he fell I heard a cry,

'RYE!'

The Werewolf I thought was Maddok was actually Rye. Maddok looked at me with pure hatred then as he cradled his dead brother. I didn't pay any attention to him as I faced Jadis.

'Killing one Werewolf won't save you. Did you actually think Maddok and Rye wanted to help you escape? I knew what you were planning; I know everything about you Leona. Your family have forgotten you; they have given up on you. And now you will die'

I felt a gentle breeze and Aslan spoke to me,

_'Child, let her turn you to stone. I will not let her kill you. You are still needed in Narnia but not to kill the Witch. After she is dead I will awaken you again, but until then, sleep. Await my call'_

And the Witch's blue magic filled my vision. The last thing I remember is seeing my family, all there, waiting for me.

I was so absorbed in my story I didn't notice Susan and Lucy sobbing before they both tackled me after I was finished. Susan choked,

'We're soo sorry for everything!'

'Yeah, we have to find Peter and Ed, you have to tell them all of this'

'No! Umm...look the ball is still on tonight, and there's going to be an attack. It's safer if they still don't trust me and are tailing me, that way I'll be able to get them weapons faster'.

It took a while to convince them that I couldn't tell the boys yet, it wasn't that there was going to be a full scale war in a few hours, and I just don't think they'll believe me. Especially Edmund. I hurt them all today, but I think I crushed him the most. It's better if he doesn't trust me, that way I can keep him safe.

I explained my idea with the treasury to them and they both agreed it was going to work. We estimated from Susan's notes about 100 or so people would be there. My family treasury is built for my parent and my brothers so it would be big enough to fit everyone. Lucy, however couldn't help but ask,

'But aren't your stuff in the treasury too?'

'Lucy...they thought I was dead for years. I don't think I had much stuff to keep in the treasury anyway. They probably just have a part of the wall with my name engraved on it, it's nothing really'

Susan agreed to go ahead and spread the word among the other Narnians at the ball to conceal weapons and where the treasury was just in case, and they also began to plan booby traps for the Calormenes. Lucy went to get Taurion and all of the strongest guards to defend the doors. And the army was spread out in front of the castle. I just hoped this worked. While the girls were gone I put my mask back on and fixed my hair, trying to look decent.

A loud knock on the door jolted me and Edmund and Peter thundered into the room. If they didn't look so angry I would probably have said they looked handsome, well, Ed still looks cute when he's angry. Peter was wearing a deep red tunic and cream trousers with black boots while Edmund was wearing the same only in silvery blue. They both faltered at the door and I stood to greet them, but Peter mumbled,

'Where are Susan and Lucy?'

'Ohh sorry, there were some minor things in the ball room; they just left to sort out everything before it starts. You can wait here for them if you want'

They both shuffled forward, afraid to move. After a painful minute or two, I had to break the silence,

'You know, I don't bite'

They both jumped and Edmund said,

'I know, we just didn't want to intrude'

'Ohh come on, you knocked! How is that intruding?'

He shrugged, desperate to stop the conversation. I'll admit, I hate them being wary of me, but I guess this is better than anger. After 10 minutes of agony, Lucy bounded into the room my wand glinting in her hand.

'Here Lea! You're ready now!'

She thrust the wand into my hand and immediately I felt comfortable. I was at ease as my magic flowed freely across the palms of my hands. I felt replenished. If an army came now, I could take them on. I knew I could. The Witch made sure I could.

Peter and Edmund immediately started a mini rampage in my room,

'LUCY! What makes' you think you can give that to her?'

'It's dangerous Lucy! What's the matter with you?'

Lucy lies better than I anticipated; she just smiled innocently at them and said,

'But its part of her costume, I designed it. It's not the real wand; it's just a copy of it!'

They bought it, but she winked at me when they weren't looking. Smooth Lucy Pevensie. Very smooth. You just gave me my best weapon, and you thought I was good with a knife? You haven't seen anything yet.

Susan pranced in, looking a tiny bit flustered and announced,

'It's time. Everyone's ready for our entrance. Lea, so you're going to come with us? Ed, you escort her, I'll go with Peter and Lucy is taking Mr Tumnus'

He looked reluctant but when I took his hand and squeezed it gently, I almost got my Ed back. But the second he let his guard down and his eyes softened, it was back up and he wasn't looking at me. But it was still something.

**another chapter to make up for taking soo long! thank you to everyone who reviewed chapter 9 so far, you literally made my day :) let me know what you think and i will answer any questions you have about the story so far. *little spoiler* the next chapter is basically all in Ed's POV **

**review please! x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Little Lioness **

**Chapter 11 – Cowardice**

**Edmund POV**

When the girls ran after Leona, me and Peter went to get changed. I felt like my limbs were rubber and as I got changed all I thought about was her conversation with Maddok. I wished I didn't still love her, and I felt like I was betraying every instinct in my body by trying to convince myself that I shouldn't love her.

I guess Peter saw my conflict and he sat down beside me,

'You ok?'

'What do you think Pete? I thought I loved her'

'I know, but I think you still do'

'Of course I do! I hate myself for it'

'It's not your fault. It's hers for lying'

'That's what's bothering me as well. She doesn't lie. She's been the most up front person I've ever met. She just says what she thinks, no matter how stupid she sounds. She wouldn't keep being a witch hidden unless she was afraid. What if she was scared of me this entire time?'

'Maybe, but we don't know for certain yet, let's just focus on getting through tonight, first. Speaking of tonight, do you think she was lying about Rabadash and Maddok's little scheme?'

'No, I don't, I'm bringing a dagger in my boot, just in case'

'Alright, I'll do the same, if anything happens; I've got your back'

I didn't dare say this out loud, but if anything did happen, I would protect Lea in a heartbeat. That's what scares me.

Elvin entered the room, making sure we were ready and straightening out tunics before he handed us our crowns. I didn't like wearing it to dances, don't get me wrong, for meetings it's fine because you just sit there, but during dances I'm always worried in case I'm dancing with a girl and it falls off. I'd be mortified, which is one of many reasons why I don't dance, with number one being I can't dance.

We decided to go find the girls when Elvin decided to tell us they were in Lea's room. Peter immediately went into a fit in case she did witchy stuff on them, so we ran, mostly for Peter's sake, to her room. Peter decided to knock furiously and then rush in, grabbing my arm and towing me in as well.

The first time I saw her, she was beautiful. The next couple of times, she always managed to make me lose concentration. But now, now she literally took my breath away. She has to know what she's doing, right? Who else would stand up, letting the dress swirl around her, showing off how curvy she is? Her hair is curly and it makes her look older, but the mask, I have no words to describe the mask. It was a lioness and it made her eyes glow like they were on fire. My mask was plain black but I was too embarrassed to put it on yet.

She smiled and answered Peter politely, telling us where Susan and Lucy were. When she invited us to wait, all I could think about was the last time I was here. And we were kissing. She tried to make conversation, but I wasn't helping her, mostly because I sounded like an idiot, and also because I might blurt out that we know what she is, and then Peter would kill me.

When Lucy prances in and gives her that wand, I thought she was going to blast us, but Lucy was right, it surprisingly fit her costume well, and it was slightly different from the Witch's. This one was gold, not made of ice, with a bronze tip and small suns and stars decorated all around it. It actually suited her.

When Susan announced our escorts, I wanted the ground to swallow me up. No way, this cannot be happening. Now I have to dance with her being her escort. I wanted to hug her when she squeezed my hand, she must think I'm nervous. Well, that is kind of the truth. But I can't trust her, I shouldn't trust her. She uses Magic for Aslan's sake!

We all walk down to the hall together, Susan and Peter first, then Lucy and Mr Tumnus and finally me and Lea. I thought Susan was going with Rabadash and Peter with Sophie but the arrangements mustn't have worked out. Lea turns to me and frowns slightly,

'Where's your mask?'

'Ohh...I umm, couldn't find it?'

'Uh huh, sure. Look just put it on already, I'll bet yours I just plain material, be lucky you don't have one like mine! Or they could have made you chipmunk mask instead'

'Why a chipmunk?'

'Because they're so cute with their pudgy cheeks!'

'What are you saying about my cheeks?'

'Ohh just put it on already, don't make me go find one, I think Lucy was talking about a beavers mask in there too, you know, with the fake teeth and everything...'

I hastily jammed the mask over my eyes and she laughed, tugging it down on one side,

'There, it's not soo bad, right?'

I pulled a face at her and she rolled her eyes, muttering. I couldn't catch what she said but I could have sworn she said 'cute' at one point, so I didn't mind that too much. I felt my cheeks redden when she nearly tripped and grabbed my arm, her face close to mine. She flustered, and adorable at the same time. Why did I have to fall for her?

When we enter the hall we are all introduced and we moved to the dance floor. I feel like dying inside and I've forgotten everything my tutor told me to do but Lea takes my hands and gently guides one to her waist and holds the other, smiling at me and mouthing,

'Don't worry I've got you'

How can I not trust her? How could I ever convince myself not to love her? I feel my courage coming back as the music starts and we are dancing, weaving in and out of the crowd, I stand on her toes occasionally and she trips on her skirt, but soon we are laughing and forget to care. All I know is she is here and I don't want to let her go.

The music ends and we clap, but she nudges me and whispers,

'Be right back'

She waltzes up to the musicians and speaks to them. Immediately they start a traditional Narnian dance, fast and lilting, she grabs me and we're dancing again, only this time faster and more carefree. I grab her waist and twirl her around, and she takes my wrists and we spin. I feel so free, I wanted to kiss her then. I almost didn't notice the Calormenes pull out weapons. The music stops quickly and I push Lea behind me, leading her away from them. But when I turn, she's gone. I search for her frantically, until I hear her yell,

'Now!'

Oreius leads the charge as every Narnian pulls out their own weapon, to knives from the serving table, to candlesticks and actual swords and crossbows. It's full on pandemonium as I try to find her, and there she is, directing the non fighters out of the room. She catches my eye and nods, pulling a dagger from a strap around her calf and tossing it to a Faun. I prefer swords, but right now, I don't really care, so I pull out my own dagger. I knock down any Calormene that gets in my way; I just have to get closer to her to keep her safe.

I see Peter using a Calormene sword, and following his example, take weapons form the fallen, I end up with a crossbow so I pull myself up the drapes and balance on top of the open window frame, helping Narnians who don't have any weapons. Lucy is helping the injured and directing them out, but where? As the Calormene numbers dwindle I get down and fight on foot, trying to find Lea. I hear a girl shout and I'm distracted for a second, but long enough for a Calormene to pin my arm under one of the heavy metal tables.

I hear a sickening crack and yell in pain, trying to move my arm, but the table is solid. I can't move it on my own. I know my arm is broken, so I try not to move it too much without panicking. I feel like a sitting duck, waiting to someone to see me and finish me off. And one is about to, pure triumph in his face, when a gold flame in the shape of a bear tackles him. Lea is standing with the wand in her hand, and her eyes are smouldering.

I never thought I would be afraid of her, until then. She was a real Witch. Just like Her. I hear Lucy egging her on and Susan yelling for joy. I wanted to shout at them to stop, what are they doing? She could turn on us and kill us all, but something in her expression made me doubt she wanted us dead. The flames circle the room, healing the injured in the form of rabbits and fauns, but attacking Calormenes in the forms of Griffons and tigers, I even saw a lion at one point. Everyone was panicking as the flames engulfed the room, but Lea stood still and calm, directing the flame around the room.

Then she was beside me, talking constantly, but there's a ringing in my ears, and all I can hear is,

'-I'm soo sorry I should have told you sooner I was just afraid you would hate be because I'm like Her and I swear, she did try, but I'm nothing like her. I love you, Ed, please, can you hear me?'

I look down at my arm and see the massive pool of blood; I didn't even notice I was bleeding. I look back up at Lea, pure panic on her face and I smile, but it feels weird, like I'm moving in syrup,

'Can you get this thing off me?'

'Sure, hang on'

She points her wand at the table and it transforms into loads of fiery butterflies. Its soo beautiful I want to ask her to do it again, but she's pulling me up, taking my full weight and muttering to Susan, who appeared to help her half carry half drag me away,

'Don't have time, they might follow the blood. It'll tire me out, but I have to get him out of here. Okay Lea, concentrate. Susan, take my hand'

I suddenly felt like I was floating in mid air, one second we're in the ballroom, the next we're in a corridor, with Peter, Susan and Lucy. I notice Susan is stumbling and Lucy caught her. Peter takes me away from Lea and down a corridor, where Narnians are littered everywhere, injured, helping, some even dead, covered in torn drapes. We kept going until we reached a large treasury, with five huge statues underneath large stone chests. There was plenty of room for all of us there and Peter helped me sit with my back against one of the chests.

'Lucy said they found this, it was the First King and Queen's treasury. Look, those are their children'

Honestly I'm only paying attention to the amount of blood that's pooling on the floor and soon enough Lucy has given me a drop of her cordial. Immediately I feel better and jump up to find Lea, but Peter stops me,

'You still need to rest, Ed. You nearly lost your arm'

'Where is she?'

'She's in the dungeons, Ed. We banned witchcraft when we were crowned; we have to uphold the law'

'She saved all of us!'

'Ed we can't just let her go! We'll keep her there until this fiasco is sorted'

Susan and Oreius ran up,

'The armies retreated! They saw what happened to the Calormenes and both pulled back!'

'Where's Rabadash?'

'Halfway to Calormene by now. When he found out we had a witch, he bolted'

Lucy nudged Susan,

'Is this what she was telling us about?'

'Yes Lu, Ohh look! It's her chest!'

They scrambled over to the other side of the room, where a small chest stood, on the top it read,

_'Our sweet Leona aged 7, who left us in Spring Year 17. We miss you and will never forget you'_

Wait, Leona? No way, this cannot be happening. So she was a Princess this entire time? Lucy pushed the top off, revealing a large glittering sword, with an engraving etched on the blade,

_'For my Little Lioness, when you return, love Daddy'_

Susan picked up a small sketch book, showing a child's pictures of Cair Paravel, the library was the exact same, even the staircase and the towers. On the last page a real artist's sketch of Cair Paravel and underneath written,

_'Cair Paravel designed from Princess Leona's drawings aged 6. Cair completed Year 30'_

An assortment of wooden blades and bows and arrows littered the bottom, with more drawings of Leona and her family, and some child's dresses. Lucy stooped down and picked up Lea's crown, it was made for someone young, the ends not meeting so it can be bent to fit a child's growing head. It was beautiful, a deep gold, with small suns and stars littered around it, and small topaz jewels still sparkled.

I could see her wearing this, it matched her wand. Lucy wiped a tear away and stood up, still holding the crown; Susan pulled the lid over the chest. They both looked at each other, then at us,

'Sit down; we have to tell you what she told us'

'You have to listen to this'

And they began Lea's tale.

When they were finished, I felt horrible. She went through all that, and after what we did to her? Hatred for the White Witch filled me, still that woman got under my skin, and she's been dead for 5 years. Peter, however, seemed indifferent,

'She still broke the Law and we have to uphold it. We need guards stationed in case the armies return, I doubt the Calormenes will but the Witch's Forces will attack indefinitely '

Lucy looked furiously at him and shouted,

'She gave up her life for her family! Why are you punishing her? She doesn't need any more people betraying her!'

But I was already gone, running back through the tunnel. Peter didn't say she was still in the dungeons. My heart was hammering in my chest and I pounded down the stone steps towards the dungeons, where Maddok sat waiting,

'About time kid. Get out there and bring her back'

'Where is she?'

'Some guards came and said she was to help in case the armies returned. I only told them to be ready, not to attack. I had to see if she was ready to help you'

'Why?'

'Aslan works in mysterious ways, kid'

So Aslan did have a plan. But Maddok wasn't finished,

'She won't survive holding back one army on her own. The Calormenes won't fight anyway, they're cowards through and through, but I would bet Her forces will take this opportunity'

'So Aslan told you what to do this entre time?'

'Would that really surprise you? I had to make up for what I had done to her and that Griffon, so Aslan gave me a way to be forgiven'

If I thought about it, it didn't actually surprise me that much. But now wasn't the time, I had to find her. I figured if the armies were still retreating, and then she may be in one of the towers scaring them off. I looked out one of the small windows in the dungeon, trying to find her gold flames. Where is she?

Lucy barrelled down the steps and, panting, said,

'They moved back past the border!'

'Who did?'

'Both armies! Rabadash sent a message claiming he had no idea of the attack, but Susan just spoke to a dryad call Hazel who heard him talk about it, so he's just a big fat liar. And the Witch's Forces moved up North again. Peter has a huge patrol being stationed now'

'Did you see Lea, Lucy?'

'No, that's what's scaring me. Peter says he has it under control, but I don't know what he'll do. He still doesn't trust her, come on, we should go'

I followed her back up the steps with a nod of thanks to Maddok. We had managed to have fewer deaths than I expected, only 7, but we had too many injuries. Lucy had to go get her cordial for the serious ones, including my own. But now we were just improvising on medical supplies. Everyone was moving to the medical wing to rest and Susan and Peter found us,

'Where were you? You shouldn't have run off like that, we needed you here'

'Sorry Pete, I was just looking for Lea'

Peter's face grew stony, he glared at me,

'I heard some interesting things from Oreius about witchcraft, apparently if the witch's wand if broken then she'll obey whoever breaks it'

'But that's...its wrong Peter!'

'We need her to fight; I've never seen two armies retreat just because of some Magic. She'll be valuable on our side. Come one, we'll talk somewhere private'

We found a study and as soon as I closed the door we argued. Lucy and Susan sided with me, but Peter was High King, his decision was always final. When Peter yells at us to shut up and calls for Lea, I half expect her to come in through the door, but no, she just appears in a huge gold spark.

'What?'

She looked completely fine, like there hadn't been a mini war going on inside the castle a half hour ago. Her mask was gone, and the hem of her dress was ripped a little, but other than that, not a scratch on her. Peter went outside and sent for Oreius and Taurion. I faced Lea and mouthed,

'You okay?'

She smiled grimly and nodded, before pointing at my arm and raising her eyebrows. I had forgotten just how bad it looked, the sleeve was completely destroyed and my whole arm was covered in blood. I shrugged and grinned. At least I could still make her giggle.

Oreius and Taurion entered the room, pointing their weapons at Lea. Peter cleared his throat and said,

'Leona, you are under arrest for murder'

Murder? Was he seriously going to arrest her for some Calormenes? They attacked us, it was self defence! But Peter continued,

'You murdered Narnians tonight, and I have a pile of witnesses who spoke against you, do you deny it?'

Leona lifted her chin and looked at Peter distastefully, she looked at him like he was a bug she was thinking of squashing. But she smirked, her eyes harsh, and said,

'No, I don't deny it'

I felt my heart plummet. So she was evil this whole time? The girl I was laughing with earlier, the one who falls walking up stairs, the one who eats food more than I do, the one I was going to teach how to play chess, killed Narnians. Our people. And she looks so indifferent, shrugging it off like it didn't mean anything to her.

Her eyes were cold and for one second, she reminded me of Her. Lucy was crying, shaking her head and Susan was frowning in disbelief. Why does she make me feel like I'm on a roller coaster? One second I think I love her, the next she lied to me the entire time, then I feel like I can trust her again and she saves my life, the next she murders Narnians? What is she planning?

Peter pulls her wand from her grasp quickly, she motions to retrieve it but Taurion's axe on her throat stops her,

'Peter, don't do it'

'I won't, but maybe Ed will help me'

He can't really expect me to help him, can he? I'm soo confused I just want time to think, but Pete is handing me a sword and holding the wand horizontally in front of him,

'You destroyed the last Witch's wand, so you destroy this one's as well'

I keep my grip on the sword, the heavy metal keeping me from losing it altogether. What is happening to me? She's a killer; I should so what Peter says. But then another thought pops into my head, why should I? Why can't Peter do it himself? I'm about to throw the sword down when Lea speaks,

'Just do what you have to do; you're the Just King, right?'

She looked like a Princess then, her gaze holding mine. She was right, Aslan named me the Just King, and I couldn't be prejudiced towards her crimes. It shouldn't matter who she is, Princess or not. I felt my resolve turn rock solid and I methodically turned away from her as a tear fell down her cheek, and I cut her wand in half in a shower of gold sparks. Only until her scream cut through the air and she fell to the ground did I realise what she did.

**let me know what you think so far, and i can say that there will be more battles soon... ;) let me know if you think Ed should forgive Lea... i would like to especially thank MEC, your review literally made me cry. thank you so so much for your kind words and please let me know how your writing goes :) x**

**dont forget to review please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 12 – Cold As Ice**

**Leona POV**

Before the Calormenes attacked, I was having the most amazing time. I knew Ed wasn't comfortable, and neither was I, so we weren't really dancing, just sort of shuffling about, until I remembered a fun old song my brothers danced with me to and requested it to the musicians. Then, we were just goofing around and trying not to hit into anyone, and he grabs my waist and twirls me around.

I feel like he's finally accepting me, and now I want to kiss him more than anything, but the stupid Calormenes interrupt and decide to attack then. Seriously, these guys have the worst timing ever! They decide to attack just as the dance has started? How amateur is that?

Anyway, Ed, trying to be very adorable, pushes me behind him. Cute, I'll admit, but right now I need to make sure everyone is ready. I slip past him and find Lucy, who is arming some Fauns with huge carving knives,

'Where did you get theses?!'

'Ohh, I may have asked the kitchen for extra knives at the serving table, and this was all they had'

Lucy is a genius. When everyone I could see was armed, I yelled,

'Now!'

I decided not to fight yet; I saw some squirrels that couldn't fight, so I directed them to the treasury room, not before catching Ed's eye, thankful he was alright so far, and opened the seal. Susan came running with more Narnians and before long the place was packed with injured and some dying. I didn't have much time, so I healed all of them quickly, letting my flames lick their wounds.

I didn't really mean for everyone to panic, but after a minute they realised they weren't being hurt, and passed the injured towards the flames. I lit a torch and handed it to Susan,

'Anyone who is injured just put the flame over the wound'

I focused on the ball room then, concentrating and analysing the scene. I saw Peter taking on a few Calormene, but he was clearly winning, so he didn't really need me. I focused on finding Ed and suddenly pain ripped up my right arm, and I panicked. Edmund was clearly hurt.

I ran then, I had to help him soon or he would lose his arm. That was all I could think about. When I entered the room I let my flames go, attacking the enemy and healing the wounded. This was what Aslan had called me to do; I was trained to aid in battle. And I never lost. The Calormenes took one look at me and ran, Peter staring at me wide eyed before Lucy came and dragged him towards the treasury.

I was about to help Ed, when I noticed some wolves prowling around my flames. I didn't see them earlier, so I checked their thoughts,

'_So Maddok was right, the little Witch lives'_

_'We should head back in case she catches us'_

_'Queen Jadis taught her well, just as she said before the battle'_

So, they were spies. If there was one thing I hated more than betrayal, it was spies. Ignoring the other Narnians recuperating in the room, I sent a blast of flames in the shape of a Lion at them. They were clever, one even howling,

'Aslan, save us!'

When I was sure they had all fallen under my Lion's claws, I went to Edmund. I knew the other Narnians would tell Peter, and it's not like I gave them a reason to trust me. I saw Ed's arm pinned under the table up to his elbow, blood pooling around him. I knew if he stayed there his arm would be lost. So I panicked. I blurted out a pathetic apology and prayed he could still hear me.

It took a while for him to focus on me, but when he did he smiled gently. He mumbled getting the table off him, so I turned my wand onto the table and turned it into a load of fiery butterflies. I know he's not fully with me when he reaches out to catch one, so I pull him up, letting him rest completely on me.

Susan comes in, and, shocked by how quiet it was, came over to me. Her expression was sombre, so I guessed she knew,

'Peter has asked you to meet with him immediately, he wants to talk'

'I know'

'...Were they real Narnians?'

'No, just spies'

'Well, I'm sure if you tell him-'

'Won't make a difference, he'd arrest me for using witchcraft anyway'

She nods and I guess he was already spreading my abilities about, rallying everyone against the new Witch. To be honest I didn't blame him, I hadn't exactly told him the truth all the time, and I guess when I hurt Ed and his sisters it pissed him off. And then it hit me.

So Aslan's plan was to challenge them all, to see how much they've learned. And I was his tool. Susan helped me take Ed's weight and she was going to take him out to the treasury, but I had a feeling there were more spies in the castle, and I didn't trust anyone.

I had only done this once before, and the effort that knocked me out for a few days, but if I could get him to the treasury without leaving a blood trail, then it was worth it. I warned Susan beforehand though, telling her,

'Phasing isn't really that difficult for me to do, but you might feel dizzy after. You'd better close your eyes too, it helps'

It was easier this time, well, at least this time it was only two extra and not a mini army. I just focused on the treasury door, letting myself walk down the corridor towards it, focusing my energy and there we were, in front of a shocked Lucy and a furious Peter.

'What. Are. You. Doing?'

He was trying very hard not to lose it, but I already knew the fight was over, for now at least, so I had every right to be rude back,

'I'm saving your brother while you're just standing here, get him downstairs would you?'

He glared and took Edmund off me, and I cleaned his blood off my dress. I liked this one, and I didn't want it stained. Peter nodded to someone behind me and I rolled my eyes, letting Taurion grab me and march me to the dungeon.

Lucy and Susan's cries of protest rang out, but I knew there was no point. He had to learn his lesson. He had already learned Aslan's way, by him doubting me. I was pretty sure the girls would tell them soon enough, so if he convicted me after hearing my story, then sadly, he would have to learn his lesson my way. Taurion took my wand and handed it to the guards; they took it gleefully and tried to blast the opposite wall with it. Idiots.

I settled in the cell by Maddok, and he turned to face me, muttering,

'Didn't believe you, huh?'

'No, the girls did and I think Ed's on the fence a bit. Peter doesn't'

'Ahh, so Aslan wants to challenge the High King? So that's what he meant...'

'Meant by what?'

'Well...you know how I'm helping you, right? When I knew the Witch was evil, I joined your Father. How else would I know soo much about you?'

'Because of the spies I just killed?'

'Imbeciles! I left Veskil in charge and this is what he does! Unbelievable, good for nothing Wolf!'

'Umm...back to your senses please?'

'Sure, sorry'

'You're helping me because...?'

'I had a dream, and Aslan said I could be forgiven if I helped you. I had to send a party out and attack you, then get arrested and help you in the castle'

'Okay, so what did he say about Peter?'

'He said they needed to see what they've learned ruling soo far. Queen Susan and Queen Lucy seem to have done well, but the boys...I feel like there's something I'm missing, you know?'

'Like Aslan didn't tell you everything?'

'Right. I think something else is going on, but I don't know what'

'I don't know Maddok. This is getting bigger than just us. I think Her Forces are going to start a war. I think they'll need us to help them and we need to get them to trust us'

'I don't care if some pompous kids trust me or not! If Her Forces are attacking then we all have a huge problem, it's not about trust, it's about protecting Narnia from Her all over again'

I let his words sink in. He was right, I could help them if I wanted to, but if they didn't trust me, I would still help without their consent. I felt that Aslan had something bigger planned, just like Maddok thinks, but I had a bad feeling I was going to get the worst of it.

And just to prove me right, Oreius arrived, saying I had to come and make sure the guards went past the borders. So, being a good little prisoner, I followed him. Oreius wasn't soo bad; he was just loyal to Peter. This wasn't so bad, just when Peter is dead wrong.

He did try to make conversation though,

'Is it true that if your wand breaks, the person who broke it controls you?'

Huh? These stupid rumours, some genius must have come up with them while the Witch was ruling. I thought about it for a second, if I agreed, then Oreius would tell Peter, making him think he could use me to win the war, but if I disagree, then I'll be thrown in the dungeons like Maddok. Peter breaking my wand may not be such a bad idea.

Sure, no one ever broke my wand before and the idea scared me, but I had stored a lot of my Magic in it when I was with Jadis, the Magic I had now is only a tiny amount. If the wand broke, then I would absorb all my Magic, and I would be able to help them. And Peter would keep me close by; I would just have to be a good little lapdog for a while.

It was stupid plan, with just a hint of madness, but then again, I could be a complete mastermind figuring this out, so I look at Oreius with wide eyes and say,

'Ohh...umm...no...no...It's just a rumour'

He eyes me suspiciously; his triumphant smile lets me know as soon as he leaves, he'll tell Peter. I stop by a window and focus, I see the two armies, and the Calormenes are racing back across the Desert. The Witch's Forces, however, were heading back North. I say this to Oreius and he tells me to stay and keep an ear out for Peter calling me, and canters away.

I realise my mask was on this entire time, so I pull it off, shaking my hair into crazy curls around my head. I set the mask down on the window sill and decide to savour my little bit of freedom and pray to Aslan, looking at the stars,

'I hope your plan works, whatever it is. I just hope you decide to tell me soon. And keep an eye on them all for me, they're idiots, but I still love them'

I hear a huge roar in my head, Peter is yelling both vocally and mentally for me. Sheesh, that guy needs to relax for a bit. Instead of walking I just phase to wherever he is, and find myself in a study, with Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy. I decide instead of being weak, I just act indifferent, and when Oreius and Taurion corner me, I look at Peter as if to say,

Are you really being serious?

He says I'm under arrest blah blah blah, and all I have to do is say I agree or deny. I remember my Father doing this sometimes, but his eyes were always ready to give the convicted fair judgment. I already knew Peter thought I was guilty. So I put up a wall, forcing myself to be cold, arrogant and undermining. Like Jadis.

He snatches my wand away and I pretend to try and get it back, but to my utter shock, he tells Edmund to break it. I'm seething at him; he just wants to see if Edmund's on his side. He knows Susan and Lucy won't do it, so he wants Ed to. I can literally see Ed jumping from me to Peter, his brother or- whatever I am to him.

I gathered my resolve and whatever Magic I had left, and I speak to get his attention. The second his eyes catch mine I sent a tsunami of doubt into his head. I saw him repeat my words methodically and my heart shattered. What had I done? I'd lost him completely. I felt a tear fall down my cheek as Ed swung his sword and cut my wand in half.

It was agony, I felt like someone was pulling my very soul to pieces. I just about register that I'm on the ground before I start seizing. My body jerks and writhes and I hear a scream, I am dimly aware it's my scream. And as quickly as it began, the pain is gone and I'm panting. My whole body s shaking and it takes a while for me to stand up, and even then I'm supporting myself on the table. I lean over and take a few deep breaths before turning to face them all.

They all look completely shocked. Lucy and Susan were crying and Oreius had dropped his sword while Taurion was still pointing his axe at me. Ed was kneeling near where I had fallen and had his head in his hands and Peter, well; I wanted to punch his smug little face. He smirked at me and went over to Ed, muttering in his ear and hauling him up.

Peter shoved Ed a little and he staggered towards me, not looking at me. He raised his head and I saw his eyes were red. I tried to be indifferent but seeing his face so in pain I wanted to hug him and tell him I was alright, but I didn't trust my legs. They were still shaking from my episode.

He looked at me and muttered,

'Blast the table'

I realised what Peter was doing. He wanted to see if the rumour was true. I sighed and backed away, still shaking, from the table, pointing my hand at it and concentrating. I made it look like I was trying to fight doing it a little; I wanted to show Peter I wasn't going to go quietly. I turned the table into a fiery Lion, a replica of Aslan. He looked at them all before roaring and I let the fire die.

I stagger, having all of my Magic course through me is difficult, like huge waves crashing into you one by one, trying to force you to let it carry you. I couldn't let this amount of Magic go; I'd destroy half the castle, so I shoved it back painfully. My head is killing me, throbbing uncontrollably, and I feel my breathing is still shaky.

I must look terrible, because Lucy tentatively walks over to me, and despite Peter's protests, she places her hand on my shoulder. I turn to her and offer a small smile, which she returned with a hug. I hug her back, letting her cry on my shoulder before Oreius pulls her back to Susan. Lucy finally loses it and shrieks at Peter,

'How could you? She's our friend! How dare you make her your slave? This is so wrong Peter!'

Peter looks clearly upset that Lucy is so furious. He looks to Susan for help settling poor Lucy, but she gives him none, speaking with deadly calm,

'You should be ashamed of yourself Peter. Leona is a Princess of Narnia; if we weren't here she would be Queen in our place. Did you even think about that? Of course not. Lucy is right; this is beyond anything you've ever done before'

Peter looks dumbfounded, he turns to Edmund, who still is looking at the place where the Lion was,

'Ed you understand, right? You know I had no choice'

Ed turns to him; I can tell he's confused, not trusting his own judgement anymore,

'Everyone has a choice Peter; you just chose one that won't give us an option to change. But yes, I do understand'

Peter nods, satisfied at least one of his siblings agrees with him. Oreius however, decided to chime in,

'King Peter realised the opportunity to have a Witch fighting for us in the upcoming war. Most are shocked she even has any Magic at all, and she is an exceptional fighter. We need her, and now she will fight at King Edmund's command'

I saw Ed twitch at the last part, and left the room, half running to get away. From me, he's trying to get away from me, I thought sadly. I destroyed his judgement; he doesn't know what to do anymore. With one final glare at Peter each, Lucy and Susan stormed off after him, leaving me with mybestest friends in the world.

Peter turned his attention to me, and he actually looked sad for once,

'I have to protect them Lea, they're all I've got. I promised Mum I'd take care of them and I nearly lost Ed in the last war. I can't have that happen again. Having you under our control means that I can keep them all safe, you understand right? You love Ed, I can see that, aren't you happy you can keep him safe?'

'I understand your little plan won't work. I don't trust you'

'Well, maybe if you told us who you were when you first got here, I would still trust you. Just go to your room, Princess. Wait until Edmund tells you what to do'

And I walk out the door, ignoring Oreius and Taurion behind me, and ignoring the stares and the whispering from the Narnians in the halls. When I entered my room, the door was shut and locked. Then I broke down. I sat with my back to the door, letting myself cry with anger and sadness. What was Aslan planning? Why did he want me to go through this again?

I felt like I was in Jadis' fortress again, waiting to be told to kill, to be their lynchpin for this stupid war. I knew the girls would argue for me, but there was no point now. I let them lock me in here, I let them break my wand, and I let them hurt me.

But if I could save them, even if I would have to go through this hell again, I knew in my heart I would. I just had to be patient. Aslan has never failed me yet; he knows what he is doing. I calm myself down. I got myself into this for a reason. I have to protect them.

Even if they break my heart over and over again, they were crowned to help Narnia. Aslan crowned them for a reason, and he wanted me to help them. I don't know how long Aslan wants me to stay here, but now I'm a Witch, I can't die that easily anyway. I'm the best person Aslan could get to help them for this war, and I know that. I just have to know when to help them.

I guess that wasn't true, technically now I couldn't help until Edmund _commanded_ it. I lean my head back against the door, sighing. I had to act again, to act like Her. I had to make them hate me; make them see I couldn't be trusted. I had to pretend that the entire time I was here, it was an act. And this time I couldn't try and escape on a Griffon.

**Edmund POV**

I thought she had died, I thought she was really leaving me then. I sank to the ground beside her while Lucy and Susan were hysterical. I just about feel tears falling down my cheeks, all I'm seeing it's her eyes scrunched in pain, and her body jerking uncontrollably. I hear Peter telling me to get up, to act like a King, and suddenly I wanted to punch him. I hoped he didn't know this would happen, if he did I'll kill him.

Seeing her in this much pain physically hurt to watch, and I knew I couldn't do anything to help her. If Peter was right, then she would do what I said. I hated thinking I had that much control over her, but I couldn't help think of the words that popped into my head before I broke the stupid wand.

I could have sworn on my own life the voice was Lea's, I didn't know if she could do that, but she did one hell of a job if she really did want me to break her wand. I was about to tell Peter, but decided if she told me in her head, then she didn't want Peter to know she convinced me. She stopped moving then, and my heart started thumping, but I saw her ragged breathing and I was relieved.

I didn't want to touch her, but I wanted to help her, to carry her away from whatever Peter had planned for her here, but she must really hate me now. So I let her struggle, holding the table for support. Peter grabbed my arm and hauled me up, telling me to get her to do something, so I just told her to blast the table.

Immediately I regretted it because she was using it as a crutch, but she backed away, nearly falling, and turned the table into a fiery Aslan. I felt soo guilty as he stared at me before roaring and melting away. How could I let this happen? She must really hate me now. But when I look at her, she just looks sad and tired, not angry.

Lucy comforts her, and I wished I had the guts to just tell Peter to shove off, but I still don't know. I don't know if I can trust her. She killed loyal Narnians, and she didn't even look sorry. Lucy finally loses it with Peter, and then I know it's bad. Lucy only ever gets angry when one of us has done something terrible.

Susan agrees with Lucy, and suddenly Peter is looking at me, desperate for my answer. I'm still confused, so I just say what I think, and he's satisfied. Oreius just states the obvious but it hurts to hear. I've had enough, so trying not to look back at Lea, I leave the room. I decide to go to an orchard in the courtyard, sitting on a stone bench, and letting what just occurred sink in.

I look up at the stars and try to find some kind of reasoning within myself for what Peter did, but I can't find any. Sure she would be great for help, but couldn't he just ask her instead? I put my head in my hands and try not to picture her face, her smile during the dance, young and happy, to now, she looked like she had seen all of this before, and she was so old and mature. But she _was_ over 900 years old. I hear whispering and lift my head; Lucy and Susan are in front of me. They were clearly crying again, their eyes going all puffy, like mine probably were right now.

Lucy sat beside me, wrapped her arms around my shoulder and cried. Not saying a word, I hug her back, resting her head on my shoulder. Susan sat on the grass in front of us, and, frowning, began,

'What are we going to do? Peter won't listen to us, and we can't let him control Lea like this'

'I control Lea, Su'

'Ohh, right. Sorry'

Lucy sniffed and shoved me away from her softly,

'Why did you break her wand? That was horrible, I thought she was going to die'

'Me too, Lu. I don't know, I wasn't going to, but I think she made me'

'How?'

'I felt her voice in my head, saying I was the Just King and I shouldn't ignore her crimes and stuff. I think she wanted me too, but I couldn't tell you why'

'We have to go see her, and find out what's going on. We won't have much time before Her Forces are back.'

Susan stood up and pulled Lucy up with her,

'Good thinking Lu. Come on Ed, let's go'

I followed them to her room, but we stopped at the end of the corridor. Flames were circling everywhere, one second a Faun dancing, the next a Tiger ready to pounce. It looked like she didn't want any visitors. But Susan walked forward, through the flames, wherever she walked the flames formed flowers,

'Su! What are you doing? You'll get hurt!'

'No, I won't. Lea gave me a torch of her flames earlier, and experimented a little. If you think you're going to get burned, you do. But if you tell yourself you won't get burned then the flames don't hurt you, I promise'

Lucy was already following her, the flames around her forming Fauns and Rabbits dancing around her. I thought they were both mad, but I followed them. I needed to see Lea. The flames around me turned into a horse like Phillip, galloping around me in circles. It was like a whole new world in these flames. I felt myself getting stronger, my arm felt even better than when Lucy gave me her cordial.

Susan was inspecting the door and frowning,

'It's locked from the outside'

Lucy scowled, if Peter where here she'd probably kick him or something. Not that I would stop her or anything. We looked everywhere for the key, but we couldn't find it. Oreius probably had it, someone who'd never hand it over.

But Lucy grinned and pulled a loose stone out of the wall, and there it was, the small metal key glinting in the light of Lea's flames. Susan unlocked the door and opened it gently, peeking her head through the gap.

She went in, followed by Lucy, and finally, me. And there she was, fast asleep on a chair by the balcony, which was also locked as Susan went to try and open it to let some air in. The room was spotted with flames, little animals either asleep or playing about in her room. A centaur was battling a Rhino in one corner, and Lea turned in her chair, muttering. The scenes all changed, now there were actual people.

A tall older man with a gold crown on his head and a huge cape, a woman in a crown as well and a long flowing dress, like the one Lea had on when we first met. Three boys, all looked identical to the woman, one around my age and the rest around Lucy's, stood with wooden swords and followed the man's instruction on sparing, the woman, was sitting on the ground and watching peacefully.

A young girl sprang into the picture; she looked like her father, her hair flowing behind her as she ran towards her family. Lea muttered and moved again, this time the scene turned into a nightmare. I saw the young girl, and facing her was the White Witch, exactly as she was when I first met her, a warm and inviting smile on her face. The girl said something, but I couldn't make out what she said, and the Witch frowned.

I saw frost form on the trees and the ground, and the girl started to glow, the flames melting the ice around her. I saw the Witch give her a cruel smile and showed her images of her family, hurt and about to die. The girl looked frantic, but still calm. I knew what she said then, and my heart dropped. She had said 'Yes'. These were Lea's memories.

The scene changed again, she was older, like she is now, and wearing the red and gold dress. She was flying on a Griffon, what did Lucy say his name was? Featherfly I think. He landed on the ground and I could see they were in a clearing. They were waiting for something.

The Griffon grew more panicked, stomping his claws and speaking quickly, but Lea shook her head. I knew that stubborn look, she wasn't budging. The sun started to rise on the distance and she was about to get on the Griffon, when a Werewolf appeared.

The next second he had Lea, Featherfly was a pile of crumpled stones, and the Witch was going to kill her. My heart was hammering in my chest; I wanted to run in to the picture and save her. I saw Lea blast the Witch's sleigh and kill the Werewolf, but there is Maddok, cradling the fallen body.

Lea turns to the Witch and I want to scream at her to run, but I can't. My voice is gone and I see her falter. Her expression is content and she doesn't fight back as the Witch turns her to stone.

It was bad enough hearing Lucy and Susan tell us the story, but to see it being retold in these flames just make it more real. The fire dies out quickly and I turn, and duck just in time as the painting behind me burns. Lea had woken up and saw us standing in her room,

'Lea, it's us!'

She focuses on our faces, guilt written across it, before she puts up that stupid wall again,

'It's lucky I didn't kill you all, you know that?'

Lucy stood and hugged her; her eyes softened and hugged her back. She looked over Lucy's shoulder at Susan, and focused her gaze on me,

'What are you doing here?'

Lucy pulls away from her and smiles,

'We're here to help you!'

'Yeah well, no need for that'

'Why? We want to help'

'Yeah, well, it's done now, there's nothing you can do'

Susan stepped back a little,

'You hate us don't you? Because we didn't stop Peter?'

'I don't hate you, I just wish it didn't have to end up like this'

'Like what?'

'Like I can't do anything to help you until Edmund tells me. If he dies then I can't do anything'

'So, you want to kill me?'

'You aren't really listening are you, Edmund? If you die, then Peter doesn't have back up plan. If I can't use Magic, then you don't really have much of a chance'

I knew she wasn't telling the truth, she was being harsh so we would hate her, like Peter does. But I had an idea,

'So, how did you use Magic then?'

'I was asleep, I can't control it too well when my brain is resting. I'm not multitalented thank you very much'

I can't believe how different she is, the only thing that gave away she had any emotion left were her red eyes. I remembered her expression when the White Witch entered the clearing, it was the exact same. She was putting on an act. A near perfect act. But, I continued,

'Not when you were asleep, when you blasted the painting behind me'

I got her then, and she faltered for a split second before answering,

'And you'd just love a reason to tell your High King I almost killed you, right? I was half asleep and I saw you all standing there, so sorry if I acted on impulse for a split second'

'I wouldn't tell Peter and you know it! It's not like I tell him everything-'

'Do you seriously think I would fall for that? You told him everything about us, didn't you?'

'...What makes you think that?'

'Your face for one thing. Give me some credit, I'm not stupid'

'I didn't say you were! So what if he knows, it doesn't make a difference...'

Then it was my turn to falter, was she blaming me? I didn't tell Peter what to do; I didn't ask to break her wand. It just happened. How could she say me telling Peter put her in this situation?

'It's actually hilarious how you think you had nothing to do with this'

'Wait, I didn't say anything, how did you know that?'

_I can get inside your head, chipmunk_.

I heard her voice in my head; it was definitely her that made me break her wand, but why? Now she was starting to freak me out.

'So how is this my fault?'

'If you hadn't told Peter, then he wouldn't have thought I would fight in this war for you. Peter figures I want to fight, so I can protect you'

'So, you don't want to help us?'

'So what if I don't? It's not like I have much of a choice now. Be that as it may, it might be fun to see you all attempt this. It is pure stupidity that will get you all killed'

I take a few steps back, her voice, the cold, harsh truth in it, and her expression of cruel pity. She was exactly like the White Witch. Pure fear filled me, and I felt like a child again. I wanted to turn and leave, but Susan and Lucy were still there, I couldn't just leave them.

Susan was watching our exchange with wide eyes, but Lucy was frowning,

'We're you're friends, why wouldn't you help us?'

'I might have if you'd actually asked me, not your brother here breaking the only control I had over my Magic and then forcing me to use it'

The pain in her voice was clear, but I still didn't know if she was acting or not. She had to know she was confusing us, but she didn't seem to notice. She just looked at each of us and sighed,

'It's late, just go and get some rest and talk to Peter tomorrow. I'm sure he'll tell you everything you need to know'

I give up, and walked to the door, letting Lucy and Susan leave first, before looking at her hard gaze once more, then walking out.

'Lock the door on your way out, Edmund'

She was laughing when I closed the door. But I know her laugh; this one wasn't warm and didn't make me smile. This one was cold and mocking. The flames were gone from the corridor; it seemed dead and lifeless without the flames dancing. Susan finally spoke,

'Who was that?'

Lucy answered quietly,

'I don't know, but it wasn't Lea'

It was just then that I noticed she didn't call me Ed, she called me Edmund. Lucy was right, Lea wasn't here anymore.

**i had lots of spare time today, soooo...here is chapter 12! i seriously cannot believe i've just started writing chapter 13! thank you to everyone who has stayed with my story soo far, all of your reviews and follows really do mean a lot to me so thank you!**

**and please review! x**


	13. Chapter 13

**Little Lioness **

**Chapter 13 – Plans in Motion**

**Leona POV**

I fell asleep in tears; I kept seeing the hurt on their faces, watching my cruel words sink in. It felt soo wrong, this was nothing like when I was with Jadis, at least then I could just make a few statues to scare people and they wouldn't bother me. But they all thought of me as a friend at one point or another, this would be far harder than I imagined.

_I woke up in the meadow again, and I knew by the warmth in the air Aslan was there. And I was right; he was sitting beside the chunks of stone that were once my friend, and not too far away, was me. As a statue I looked peaceful, almost happy, but now I frowned at Him,_

_'What am I doing here?'_

_'I want to speak with you. I have already told Maddok his role in the next few weeks, now you must know yours'_

_'Role? So you want me to keep up this act?'_

_'Yes. I understand this is unusual, but this is an unusual circumstance'_

_'Why? What's going to happen?'_

_'You must decide the course of this war. The White Witch's forces may be after Narnia, but She made sure before the Battle of Beruna that they knew all about you. She wanted you to lead them in her stead, and they want you to lead them'_

_'Are you serious? They actually think I'll lead them...because Jadis taught me Magic, right? They think I'm here against my will, don't they? They want me back because they know they need Magic to win'_

_'Yes. Her Force's want you, they have no real strategy, Maddok informed me, but they only know that they need you desperately'_

_'So, Maddok really is helping me?'_

_'Of course. He has proven himself, and now he believes in me'_

_'Alright, so if make Her Force's try and break me out, then we'll ambush them'_

_'That may work, but you shouldn't be worrying about smaller battles. You must not let the King's and Queen's trust you, your theory is right, they are careful and intelligent. They will keep you close; close enough to save them when you need to. You must prevent their deaths'_

_'Okay, just summing this up here...you want me to go back there to lie, cheat and manipulate them into not trusting me so I can save them from a war that they are all meant to die in? This isn't very almighty Aslan of you'_

_'They are not meant to die yet, but the paths they have chosen so far will lead to their deaths soon enough. That is what you must prevent. And yes, I agree this is very unorthodox, but we have no other options left'_

_He looked at me sadly, and I knew this little planning session wasn't going to leave me feeling very comforted,_

_'Sacrifices must be made, and their deaths must be repaid. Try and remember I blessed you with Magic for a reason, this is what you are meant to do'_

_Sacrifices, huh? Well, he always likes to leave it on a happy note. But He isn't done yet,_

_'You haven't lost faith in me yet, but this will challenge you more than ever, are you ready?'_

_I thought about it for a moment, if Aslan was right, then maybe it was me that changed their paths. What if I'm the reason they die, unless I save them myself?_

_'Is all of this my fault?'_

_'I told you I would wake you when She was gone, but I needed to know when they were all ready; some of them took a while to adjust, mostly Peter and Edmund'_

_'But did my being here affect them?'_

_'In a way, yes. More importantly, Edmund's love for you will destroy him, and in turn his siblings. Their deaths have been haunting me for a while now'_

_'Which is why you didn't wake me up until he was my age, right? You wanted me to fall for him too, so I would save them'_

_'As perceptive as always I see'_

_I sighed and placed my head in my hands, trying to wrap my head around this. It was all my fault. This war, Jadis attacking Narnia, all the lying, betraying and mistrust...it was all my fault. I raised my head and Aslan was watching the sunrise,_

_'Dawn is always a good time to make decisions. Are you ready, Little Lioness? I cannot help you anymore than I already have'_

_'...Yes, as you wish Aslan'_

_'You might want to think about a change. It might help your acting skills'._

I woke up with a start the next morning, and I honestly have never felt feel soo alone in soo long. I still don't know if I can do this. All I could think about was the sadness on their faces when they left yesterday. I feel like such a bad person for having to hurt them again.

I let Aslan's words sink in, and I thought it over, if I could get them to hate me, then at least none of them die. I felt so guilty; I wanted to just let it consume me. But Aslan's words rung in my head. I had to save them.

I know if I drop the act now, then Peter will throw me in the dungeons and toss away the key until the war is over. But if I can make them scared of me, then they'll keep me close, if I can make them think I'm a threat, then there's a chance they won't let me out of their sight. And now that Edmund 'controls' me, they'll keep me even closer just to use me. It's perfect to keep them all safe during this hell. It's probably stupid, well, worse than stupid, it's insane, but I have a bad feeling it won't matter what happens to me after all of this. I just have to keep them safe for now.

A tray of food is sitting on the table, but I don't touch it. I know I had to be a bad prisoner, and although I didn't like the idea of starving myself, I had to be defiant in some way. I got cleaned up, choosing a plain dark blue dress with a square neckline that was perfect for my belt. I really wanted to go down and see the treasury, not wait all day in this stupid room and see if I'm called out or not.

So, I clean. I'm not exactly neat, and Lucy and Susan managed to clean up a little yesterday, so I didn't really have much to do, so I let my flames go, letting them twirl around my fingers. It worried me that it didn't take much effort to do this, and Edmund nearly caught me out already, so I had to be careful. If I lost control now, then they would know the rumour isn't true, and then what would happen?

I wanted to see Maddok, which was strange because I've hated him for soo long, to see him as the only one I can tell the truth to now is just weird. I want to ask them to give him a room like me, but I think it may be pushing it. I sit on a chair and decide to style my hair, I brush it back down to my hips, and I remember what Aslan said. A change. Maybe he meant a drastic change.

I have to show them I'm different now. I have to have a different look, to convince them, and myself, I'm not like them. So I go to the washroom, and pick up a pair of heavy metal scissors. I hold a section of my hair out, and using the mirror; I shut my eyes tight and cut my hair to just below my shoulders. I don't cut it neatly, letting parts be longer than others, I pull the front section of my hair down and cut far too high up by accident, the piece of hair is halfway down my cheek, so I have an idea, pulling the other side down and cutting both even shorter, so a curtain of hair skims over my eyes, making them stand out.

I fix the ends, making sure it's neat enough, and then fixed the uneven parts, straightening them up. I look like someone cut layers out of my hair, so I soften it a little, rounding the uneven parts, smoothing them into my hair. I don't even recognise myself. It's perfect.

I go back to my room, planning to sweep up the cut hair later, and, taking the makeup Susan left, I put rouge on my lips and take some of the dark powdery stuff Susan used around her eyes, and I do the same, making my eyes shine a dark gold. When I'm done I cut the sleeves off my dress and take a black ribbon and make a choker for my neck.

I look at myself in the mirror. My eyes stand out more than they used to, and my hair makes me look older, far older, than I am. I feel more confident with this persona, my long hair made me look too gullible, too innocent. If was going to do this, I had to make it believable. I had to be a different person. I was fifteen, but now I couldn't even guess my real age.

Fifteen...Hang on, what date is it? I try and remember the date I was turned to stone; it was autumn, almost winter. I look out the window, and yes, some trees are pure amber, it must be autumn, so it should be my birthday soon.

I always thought it was ironic, my powers are flames and I was born in winter. I will be sixteen soon. I never celebrated birthdays with Jadis, and I don't remember any with my family, so it was never really a big deal for me. It just never occurred to me I would get older, but now I'm here, I feel like I lived all those years as a statue, watching all of Narnia's history so far. It's a weird thought, that I've been practically alive all that time.

My door unlocks and opens, snapping me out of my thoughts, and Mr Tumnus is there, but he won't look at me,

'The Kings and Queens would like to see you'

'Alright, can I ask why?'

'Just that they would like to see you'

I watch as he looks at me quickly, staring at my new look in fright, before staring at the floor again, but I have to make him scared, I have to make all of them scared, so I purse my lips and sigh,

'You know, I don't feel comfortable leaving here. My execution may be down in that hall...I'd rather be prepared, if you don't mind'

'I can't say, would you just come with me please?'

'Why say please? It's not like I have much of a choice until you call in the _Just_ King, then I would have to go. Sorry for making _you_ feel uneasy'

I could feel Edmund's presence out there, heck I could tell there were four rabbits gossiping in the next hall/ I could feel his thoughts begging Tumnus to get me outside without having to call him in and command me, so I toy with them a little,

'What do you think of my power?'

'W-what?'

'What do you think of my power? You've seen my flames, haven't you?'

'Umm...I-I can't really say. I haven't seen anything like it before'

'Would you like to know why?'

'Because I've only ever met the White Witch?'

'Haha. No, you silly Faun, it's because I was born in winter. Funnily enough, Jadis once told me she was born in the summer in Charn, and look at her! I just thought you'd like to know it's nearing my season'

'I-is that important?'

'Of course! A witch's birth month is when her powers are heightened a hundred-fold. It's our most powerful time of year. And the worst for our enemies'

'Uhh...King Edmund, is that you out there? Goodness, c-come in already. Be a gentleman!'

Tumnus was desperate for help, I pitied him a bit. He didn't really do anything to me; I shouldn't really have scared him. I stood as Edmund entered, letting him see my transformation. The shock on his face was clear, but he didn't say anything about it, just

'We want to speak with you, come to Peter's study with Mr Tumnus now'

'Alright then, but you just interrupted a lovely conversation, I hope you and your siblings keep me entertained. It's awfully boring in here'

He left then, and I followed Mr Tumnus, keeping my walk a steady glide, not dropping my head once. I smirk at the Narnians who whisper 'witch' when I walk past, and wink at the ones who curse me. I see Elvin peeking his head through the kitchen door, and as I walk past he hums the lullaby I sang to him. He looks at me and smiles reassuringly. Well, there's one person who doesn't hate me

When Mr Tumnus help the door of the study open for me, I smile confidently and waltz in to the gasps of the people seated in the room,

Lea, your hair!'

'What did you do?'

Lucy and Susan stared at me in shock, but I just shrugged,

'I was bored, there's not much to do, so I decided to cut it. It was annoying anyway. Speaking of annoying, what exactly do you want?'

Peter just glared at me from his seat, but I could tell I surprised him a little. He cleared his throat and said,

'Lea, we would like-'

'Leona'

'Excuse me?'

'It's Leona, actually'

Peter narrowed his eyes,

'I thought we all called you Lea'

'Well, I don't like it. It's either Leona or you address me as Princess, your choice'

'You're not a princess in this new Age'

'What was that old saying again? 'Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen of Narnia'?'

'Alright then, Leona. We want you to use your Magic and search for the army, tell us its exact whereabouts. We know the Calormenes have retreated, but the Witch's Forces remain in the North. Find them and report back'

I roll my eyes and look at Edmund pointedly. He looks at Peter and nods,

'Do what Peter asks'

'Alrightey then, I'll let you know in a second'

'Don't you need a while?'

'No, when you broke my wand, genius, I got all my Magic. It's harder to control, thank you very much, but it means I can use more Magic and I don't need to rest as much'

I concentrated, letting my mind wander to the North, and there they were, in a camp just along the border. They were miles away from the patrol, the idiots decided to stay in one place and not move out They were sitting ducks. I pulled my mind back, and I was in the study again, all of them watching me,

'That's creepy, you do know that? Little privacy would be nice thanks'

Peter sat up straight,

'Did you find them?'

'Yup, I did. Your patrol is terrible, did you tell them to stick together in one huge group?'

'Yes, how is that terrible?'

'They're easy pickings for an army, if they fan out in groups of two or three, then if one group is caught then they're will still be others. What will happen if they're all caught together? You have no patrol left'

Alright, so where is the army?'

'In a camp right on the Northern border'

'How many?'

'Roughly 10,000 more or less'

'You got all that just by looking at them?'

'I don't just look, I see things you know. Seeing and looking is different. I can _see_ they have more flying creatures than you do, I can also _look_ and be able to tell they use more axes, maces, basically more brutal weapons then you do. I can _see_ they depend on strength from Minotaur's and their ogres; and I can _look_ and still tell that they have no real strategy'

Peter hastily scribbled down my words, taking in my assessment. Edmund was watching me carefully, so I dip into his thoughts,

_She looks soo different; she's like a completely different person._

Good observations, chipmunk. That's what I was aiming for. When Peter is done, he turns to me,

'We all agreed that, well, to make up for how we-I-how I acted, you can have a request. Whatever you want'

Alright, so I had to choose the one thing they couldn't do.

'I want to see Maddok'

Immediately there's uproar, both Peter and Edmund refuse point blank, but Susan and Lucy agree with me,

'You said she could have a request Peter'

'I know, Susan but just not that one'

I decide to compromise a little,

'I only want to see how he is doing, he was getting a cold the last time I saw him, so if you want you could come and keep a close eye on me. It's not like I could do anything anyway'

They knew I was right, and they believed my little lie about the cold, so they agreed that Edmund and Lucy could come with me, while Peter and Susan went to a meeting with their advisors. When they were gone, Lucy rushed over to me, inspecting my hair,

'Why did you do it? I loved your hair long'

'I told you, I was bored. I had nothing to do so I just cut it.'

'Why are you lying?'

Damn it, why did he always question me? He was eyeing me with a weird look, not really believing me. I'm lost, how do I get him to believe me?

'Why would I lie? What exactly do I have to lose even if I do lie?'

Besides you, I think inwardly. I pray he takes my bait and just leaves it, but he won't, he walks up to me, scrutinizing me.

'What are you gaining by this? You convinced Peter you can't be trusted, and Susan's starting to agree with him. Your funny and sweet once second, then your rude and sarcastic the next. You change too quickly to keep up with, so I'll ask you again. Why are you lying?'

'I'm not lying, and in case you haven't noticed, I couldn't even if I wanted to. You broke my wand, remember? I'm not exactly in a position to by lying. And just because I cut my hair it does not mean I changed'

'I didn't just mean your hair, since when did you not like being called Lea? Since when did you decide to call me Edmund?'

'Did I ever say I liked being called Lea? And your name is Edmund!'

'You've never called be Edmund until last night; you've always called me Ed. I'm telling you now, don't bother lying to me, I don't get fooled as easily as the others'

'Hey!'

'Sorry Lu, but it's true'

Damn it, just give it up already! What is his problem?

'Look, would you just stop it? If you want me to call you Ed that badly, just ask! It's not like I could refuse anyway'

'Is that why? You're angry because I broke your wand?'

'Of course I'm angry! I can't use my Magic without your bloody consent!'

'Then why did you tell me to break it?'

What? Did he hear my voice? I just planted the thoughts; I didn't use my actual voice. He was really scaring me now, if he and Lucy can figure out my act, then I'm done for. So I put up a wall again,

'Maybe you just thought you heard me, I was too busy trying to not panic, in case you didn't notice!'

Lucy mumbled about going on to the dungeons ahead of us, and I watched the door close behind her. I turned back to him, and he was just staring at me,

'What?'

'What?'

'Why are you staring at me?'

'I'm trying to figure you out, but you're not really helping'

'And why can't you just ask what I'm thinking?'

'Because I don't want you to hate me'

I frowned, I had been thinking soo much about trying to make them hate me, I forgot about how I must be affecting them. I wanted to just phase away, to leave and not try and think of an answer. But I don't really have a choice, so I ready myself for what I was going to do and stare into his eyes that were just pleading with me to tell him the truth.

'Well, it's a little late for that, isn't it? Wanting something doesn't usually mean you just get it'

'So how do I make you not hate me anymore?'

'You can't so don't-'

'-But I can try, can't I? I don't give up as easily as you do'

'Trust me; I gave you enough chances, why should I give you another one?'

'...I'll let you know when I think of a good enough answer for that'

'Why not answer me now?'

'Why don't you go see Maddok?'

I forced myself to turn and start to walk away. I was walking quickly, hoping he would take a hint and leave me alone. But I'm clearly not very lucky, because he is very fast. He is taller than me, so while I'm still near jogging pace, he's still walking like I'm not trying to get away from him.

'I'm sorry, I forgot'

'Forgot what? I have to do what you say all the time? Well, sorry to burst your perfect little bubble but you only control my Magic, not me'

'So you literally just stormed off on me?'

'Yes! Why did you think you commanded me and I just obey you?'

Well...yeah I did'

Perfect, just perfect. I reach the dungeons and feel like I've run a marathon, my legs are killing me. Lucy is waiting by the door, watching my tired expression and Edmunds confused one warily. I go on ahead, not bothering to let them through first. I wanted to see him, not them.

I quickly sent a thought into his head,

_You're sick and your leg is infected from when I stabbed you. You are half dead. Act fast. I'm getting you out of here._

As I see him slump quickly in his cell, I check his leg mentally and put an illusion over it, so everyone who looks at it would see Maddok's leg wound festering and oozing pus and blood, instead of a clean, half healed wound. I heat his blood, sending his temperature soaring and let him do the rest.

His acting is perfect; he's moaning and twisting around, clutching his leg and yelping occasionally. I kneel next to him and reach through the bars, feeling his forehead quickly. He looks at me through half closed eyes. I tilt my head quickly and he sees Lucy and Edmund descending the stairs, he nods and slumps over again.

I cry out and pull his cloak away from his leg, letting the illusion kick in, even I can faintly smell how bad the wound is, my stomach turned at how bad it must actually smell to the receivers of my spell.

Lucy is by me now, while Edmund is shoving the guards awake. I turn to Lucy wide eyed and said,

'This is all my fault. I have to help him'

She nods and runs to get the medical wing fixed up for him. I turn to the guards and start yelling, letting all my recent anger and frustration out on two poor idiots,

'Didn't you check on his wound? Why didn't you smell the infection? It's lucky I even came down here, how could you let someone die in this place?'

I wanted to blast the wall for good measure, and I looked at Edmund angrily, curling my hands into fists. But he crosses his arms, frowning,

'No Magic'

'But-'

'No Magic!'

'I have to heal him! It's not like Peter will let Lucy use her cordial'

'I don't know what Peter will do, but for now, no Magic'

I turn to the guards and hold out my hand. One hastily gets my point and tosses the keys at me. Soon enough I'm pulling Maddok out of his cell, while he make jerking motions and yelps with every step. He's doing a great job; he looks like he's really in agony. Edmund gets a hold of Maddok's other side and together try to help him up the steps.

Maddok grips my hand in his paw gently, and I get the thoughts he's directing at me. I turn to Edmund and hiss,

'Let me phase him to the medical wing'

'Did you not hear me?'

'No, I did, im just choosing to ignore it for now'

'Why are you so desperate to help him all of a sudden, I thought you hated him?'

'Well, he gets my side of things around here'

'You're helping him because he's stuck here too?'

'So what if I am? I don't want to be on my own here'

Edmund stops and stares at me,

'How can you say you're on your own? I'm here, and Lucy went to get help'

'You know what I mean. I'm stuck here, I can't go home until you let me and he's the only one here who gets that, okay?'

At least that shuts him up, he doesn't reply for a while, until finally,

'Fine, get him upstairs. But I'm coming to'

I concentrate for a second, and we're there, in front of a very surprised Keela. Lucy appears and helps me lower him into a cot, while Edmund is still getting his bearings. He sits on a chair beside Maddok's cot and I kneel in front of him. I whisper to him,

'Blink a few times and concentrate on something on the room. It helps'

He looks at me and holds my gaze while his vision focuses. I smile and stand, focusing on helping Keela when she needs me. Peter and Susan walk in, but Susan takes one look at my illusion and waits outside. Peter frowns at me, but speaks to Edmund,

'The guards in the dungeons said you let he use Magic, why?'

'He couldn't get up the stairs, Pete. Look at his leg; what was I supposed to do?'

Peter frowned at me again and looked at Peter pointedly; I sigh and turn to him,

'I can take a hint you know. I'll be in my room, just let me know how he is'

Peter nods stiffly and I leave, trying not to notice Edmund following me quietly. I pretend not to notice and keep going, letting myself into my room, but instead of hearing the door lock behind me, Edmund comes in instead. I turn to him angrily,

'What? What exactly do you want?'

'Quit the act now'

Ohh damn it all, why is he soo persistent? Why can't he just leave me alone? Even sweet little Lucy doesn't trust me now, so why doesn't he?

'What act? Look if you just going to stand there and make a scene, would you please just leave?'

'Why? So you can wallow in your own self pity? Just tell me the truth, right now'

'There's no truth to tell, so just leave'

He sighs and runs his hands through his hair. It's getting too long for him nod keeps getting in his eyes. He gives up trying to fix it and leans against my door, watching me,

'I can give you a haircut if you want'

'Why?'

'If you're just going to stand there, I might as well fix your hair before you annoy me with all the fiddling'

'I'm not fiddling! It's annoying'

'Yeah, I know. So just let me cut it'

He eyes me warily, but knows I'm not going to answer his original question. He nods and sits on a chair while I get the scissors I used earlier from the washroom. He stiffens at the sight of them,

'Come on, if I wanted you dead, do you really think I'd wait this long? I could just as easily have left you stuck under that table'

'True, but I don't like the look of them. The last time I let someone cut my hair, I was almost bald'

'So don't let Susan cut your hair'

'Hey, how did you know it was Susan?'

'I can hear thoughts; I thought I told you that yesterday'

'Yeah, well, a lot has been going on and it's hard to keep up. Like why you cut your hair, why you're lying all the time, why I never got any explanations'

I cut his hair methodically, listening to his little rant and wondering, how can he see through me soo easily? I've been so rude and cruel, how could he not hate me? I want to ask, but I'm afraid to as I move to his front and start cutting, I feel his eyes burning into mine and I try and focus on cutting, but I cut too high and take a chunk out of my finger.

I yelp and bring the deep cut to my mouth, sucking on it while Edmund looks at me with his eyebrows raised, but I shrug at him,

'What? I haven't cut hair in ages, now I've done my own and now yours in the space of one day. It was bound to end up with me being stupid-'

'Are you okay?'

Umm...It's just a cut, I'm fine. Come on, im nearly done'

I finish the front quickly, trying to fix the uneven ends around his head, before pulling a face and saying,

'Ummm...don't get mad or anything...but-'

'But what? What did you do?'

He snatches the mirror from my hands and inspects his hair, and then he eyes me,

'You were kidding, huh?'

'Couldn't resist, sorry'

'You nearly gave me heart failure! I thought I would have to wear my helmet everywhere until it grew again'

I start to laugh while he frowns at he, he's so cute when he frowns, and soon enough he's laughing to. When I pull myself together, I see him staring at me, and I frown,

'What?'

'Will you answer me now? This is what I'm talking about, one second you're all crazy witch on me, then the next you're Lea again. What's going on?'

I cringe inwardly, so this was his motive. Get me comfortable then attack. I try and get out of it by saying,

'Well, you're welcome! Way to go killing the mood, and I am not a crazy witch, jut a witch with a hint of craziness'

'Stop. Just stop already and answer me!'

'Stop what? What am I doing exactly?'

He was really annoying me now, so I go to my door and I'm about to open it, gesturing for him to leave, but the door won't open. I turn to Edmund but he's already up, trying to open the door. Someone must have locked it while I was cutting his hair, and neither of us heard it lock.

We look at each other, but to my utter frustration, he smiles a little,

'Well, at least now I can pester you to tell me the truth'

I sigh and silently curse whoever locked my door. This was going to be a very long day.

**let me know what you think! any plot suggestions would help a lot, and thank you to everyone who reviewed favourited or followed me so far!**

**dont forget to review please!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 14 – Trapped**

**Edmund POV**

Seeing her freak out over the door being locked was really funny, but I knew if I thought about it too much then I would probably end up doing the same thing as her, banging in the door loudly and yelling my head off. I had a bad feeling that no one would be coming up here any time soon to look for me, because no one would ever think I would be stupid enough to go into her room in the first place, let alone get locked in with her.

Lea had given up yelling and trudged to her bed, flopping down exhaustedly. She narrowed her eyes at me and I sat on the chair by her table quickly. I inspected my hair in her mirror; she cut it really well, far better than Susan usually does. It doesn't annoy me anymore, but instead of thanking her I wanted the truth instead. There is absolutely no way she could fool me. I can tell in her eyes when she's lying, because her eyes have been shimmering more than usual since the dance, and this makes her look more scary, forcing people to not look her in the eye.

I wasn't sure if she knew that she was doing it, but she was scaring the hell out of everyone. Especially Lucy and me. Peter had brushed off the sweet, sarcastic girl from a few weeks before as an act, the cruel and manipulating girl with the strange but somehow fitting hair, being the real Lea, and Susan was beginning to agree with him.

But I had a bad feeling, like she actually wanted us to hate her. Lucy felt the exact same as me, and all of last night we devised ways to get her to confess, but none of them would work, she would figure it out quickly enough, then we would have no chance of finding out what's wrong with her.

I knew from the moment she spoke in my head that she did make me break her wand, and I wanted to know why. And the whole saving the evil Werewolf from a wound the guards swore on the Stone Table hadn't existed until yesterday? There's no way they would've ignored an infection like that, so what are those two planning?

I felt her watching me and she sighed,

'You know, vanity won't get you anywhere in life'

'Well, what do you think I should do instead?'

'Well, you could 'fess up, right now or just sit there, I don't really care'

'And what am I confessing to?'

'If you wanted out that badly you would have told me to use Magic by now, so what do you want?'

'I told you, I want you to stop lying'

She sighs and lies back on her bed,

'Do you want me to spell it out for you or something, or write it down? I don't have any reason to be lying'

'Then why have you only said so far you don't have a reason to lie; you never say you're not lying straight up'

'Give it a rest, would you? My head is killing me today'

'Yeah, sure it is. Look, I don't care what you say or how you act. I know you're lying and I want to know why. Unlike you I actually care about your wellbeing'

She sat up, resting a hand on one of the pillars of her bed, and she focused her eyes on the floor,

'Seriously, I can't think straight. Just give me a minute'

'And I haven't been thinking straight since you started this act! Just tell me Lea, I swear I won't say anything to the others if you want. I want to help you'

She gasped and, groaning, clutched her head in her hands, her knuckles turned white. She was shaking, and when she raised her head again her nose was bleeding,

'Let me use Magic, now'

'What, why? Pinch the bridge of your nose, it'll help'

'Let me use Magic, I can't handle having soo much stored up, I need to use it'

I didn't know if she was joking or not, but judging by her nose bleed getting worse and her face scrunched up in pain, I had to do something.

'Alright do it, if that'll help you'

She took a deep breath, and let some flames go. They twisted and swayed around the room, forming squirrels gathering nuts, centaurs shooting arrows and dryads dancing in circles. I had never noticed this before, but Lea had a sort of glow around her when she used Magic, it made her hair shine a bright auburn and her eyes looked like they were alive, her irises swirling with the flames.

Before long, her nosebleed had stopped and she looked better, and she stopped the flames with a flick of her hand. I handed her a handkerchief from my pocket and she cleaned up the remaining blood.

'Thanks'

'Is that why you needed your wand?'

'Yes. When Jadis started teaching me, I would get constant headaches and nose bleeds until I realised it was my Magic, I have more than the average witch, partly from Aslan's blessing, so I needed my wand to store what I didn't need'

'I'm sorry about what I did'

She sighed and smiled at me a little,

'It's ok, I guess I have to get used to it sooner or later'

It never occurred to me how old she actually was until then; she looked more mature, like she had seen far too much.

'When you were a statue, do you remember anything?'

'No one has ever asked me that before. Well...when I woke up, I felt like I had been asleep for a long time, you know? I was really stiff, but no, I don't remember anything'

'It must be hard for you then, to see how much it's changed'

'Actually, at first it was, but now I'm glad it's changed. I don't have many fond memories here; except for with my family or my tutors, I spent most of my life in Jadis' fortress, so I'm happy to see that all the bad stuff is gone'

'It wasn't that long ago that she was still here'

'So, how long have you been in Narnia?'

'Five years now, I think. It doesn't feel like it though'

'Hang on, so if you've only been here for that long, where were you before?'

'Ohh, ummm...we came here...by Magic I guess. Through a wardrobe in Lantern Waste'

'A wardrobe? Alright, I guess that is a bit weird even for my standards. Where did you come from?'

'A place called England'

'Why did you come here?'

'It's kind of a long story...'

'Well, in case you haven't noticed or anything, we kind of have a lot of time. Tell me everything'

She scooted over on her bed and motioned for me to sit beside her, so I did, trying not to think if the last time we were here, and began my story.

I told her everything, the war in England, moving to the Professor's house, Lucy meeting Mr Tumnus and, very reluctantly, me meeting the Witch. She didn't say anything, she just listened. So I continued, our adventure with the Beaver's, me going to the Witch's castle, Peter, Susan and Lucy going to Aslan's camp, and my rescue. She raised her eyebrows when I spoke of everyone forgiving me and Aslan's death, and when told her about the battle, she frowned. I finished at our coronation, with Lucy watching Aslan disappear,

'...And we've been ruling ever since'

I concluded, letting her think for a bit, before she whacked my arm very hard, and shouting,

'What is your problem?'

She looked furious, and almost scary. She frowned at me and said hissed,

'Who do you think you are? All this time I felt guilty, actually guilty about not telling you the truth, and there you are, betraying your family just as I did; only you just wanted power! How dare you all judge, hate and scorn me, when everything I did was to protect my family! This is so wrong, why didn't you tell me?'

'We didn't do all of that-all right maybe a little, but you're a Witch! The last witch I met killed soo many innocent people, ruled for 100 years using her Magic, murdered Aslan and tried to kill me and my family! Do you really blame me?'

'Yes! Just because Jadis was evil, it doesn't mean I am! Have you ever heard me complain about Taurion, he's a Minotaur; the last Minotaur I met tried to kill me! Do you see me blaming Taurion for anything?'

I understood her anger a little, but she had to see my reasoning for this,

'When I first met the Witch, I was 10, I didn't know anything about this world and she was nice to me, promised me stuff. She manipulated me, and yes I did fall for it, but now I know it was a mistake! When I knew what she was I felt awful, but everyone forgave me because Aslan did. I still sit some days and think why did I fall for her tricks, and why was I soo selfish not to see the truth? Why can't you see that when we found out you were a Witch it scared all of us?'

'For your information Aslan was the one who sent me here, so I don't really need anyone's forgiveness! How can I regret being a Witch? It's who I am and in case you hadn't notice, I saved your life! If I'm as bad as the Witch then why would I let any of you live, why didn't I kill any of you weeks ago? And if I scare you all so much then why haven't you just killed me yet?'

She waited a minute for my answer, but I was too busy mulling her words over to give her one. But she continued,

'You and your perfect little family want me to win this war for you! You all think that having a Witch will be the best opportunity to win the war quickly, but to have a Witch as your ally? No, you just want to use me until this is over, use my Magic to kill Narnians that follow Her, and when the War is done, what will you do with me?

You think that this is right, that what you're doing will benefit people, and maybe that's true, but whether you like it or not, my chances of surviving after this war is over are practically zero! So you tell me how it feels to know you might die at the hands of people you still love, have you even bothered to think I might be scared too?'

Her voice was shaking, and I saw in her eyes that she was telling the truth. But a small voice in my head whispered that maybe her acting was to cover up her fear. But I knew what she was doing. She was using Magic to get inside my head. Immediately I imagined a wall, trying to block her from my thoughts.

Lea frowned a little then, her eyes darkening, and I suddenly remembered, if I can control her Magic, then why is she in my head? And immediately, I had a plan.

**Leona POV**

He was smart, he must have been practising his mental defence ever since I got into his head yesterday, and his wall was impenetrable. I waited for him to speak, and when he did, he sounded almost too confident, and he smiled,

'I understand you may be scared, but there is no way I would ever let Peter kill you'

'I didn't mean Peter'

I didn't really want to know what he thought of that statement so I didn't search his mind for an answer, it didn't matter to me any more if he ever figures out if anything I say is true or false, so I knew if I told him the truth I would throw him a bit, so I did. I hadn't lied to him once.

I was angry that they judged me just because of Jadis, if Aslan had woken me back then during that war, maybe they would have changed their minds about Witches. But I'm here now, and whether they liked it or not, I _was _scared of them. After this war it's obvious they will want me dead, so I didn't really like to think about these people, my friends, as my inevitable killers. I remembered Aslan's words,

_Sacrifices must be made, and their deaths must be repaid. _

I knew Peter didn't have much guts when it came to me, otherwise he would have broken my wand himself, but Edmund, he was the dark horse, he wasn't as clean cut as the others, he was unpredictable, and I didn't like it. I didn't want to love him, just for him to kill me in the near future, but I can't just stop my heart beating fast when he looks at me.

I watched him look at me, his face full of hurt but then it changed to calm, but a storm was brewing in his eyes.

'If I asked you for a favour, you would help me out, right? Regardless of the war and everything else, just me asking you, would you?'

I thought about it, but my head was spinning already. He was a good person; he was kind, funny and sweet all at the same time. He was the one person I wished I had told the truth to, before all of this had kicked off. I might as well tell him the truth now, so I just say,

'Yes'

He looked me in the eye then, and I stare back. I let him search my eyes for the truth. There wasn't much point in lying to him, but I couldn't let him tell the others, it was far too risky. On their own I could probably fool them, but if they got together and discussed my actions, I don't doubt they would figure out what I'm doing.

But he was still looking at me, his brown eyes smouldering, and he speaks softly,

'Use your Magic, and kill me'

'WHAT?!'

'Use you Magic to kill me, right now'

Now he really made my heart race. He knew. He knew he didn't control my Magic, but how? I'm done for. When he tells the others, I'll be dead for sure. I stood and paced, letting him watch me, before saying,

'How could you ever ask me to do something like that? Are you crazy?'

'Maybe, but then at least Lucy will know the truth and be able to help you'

How the hell would Lucy be able to help me if I killed him? She would hate me even more than Peter does now. But Edmund held my gaze and continued,

'I couldn't live with myself if I knew you thought I would kill you after everything between us, so I'm asking you to kill me instead'

Ohh no. No, no, no,_ no_. This cannot be happening. He's crazy, he's completely lost it...and there is no possible way he would want to die just to prove a point. He's a genius. He knows I can't do it, but he's really putting his neck on the line here. If I wanted him dead, right then would be the perfect moment to do it, and he knows that. How can he trust me like this?

And the whole 'after everything between us'? What did that mean? We only kissed once. I only told him how I really felt once. And after that they found out the truth about me, I assumed he didn't care much about me anymore, so why does it hurt him that I expected him to kill me? He couldn't still love me, could he?

I force myself to stop pacing and I sink to the floor, leaning against the opposite wall; I close my eyes and whisper,

'You know I can't'

'Why not? I'm telling you to directly use your Magic, so why can't you?'

'Like to rub it in don't you?...you don't control my Magic'

He pretended to look shocked, widening his eyes and clutching his heart, before looking at me and smiling,

'I knew you wouldn't do it'

'If you know me soo well, then why didn't I do it?'

'Because you still love me, don't you?'

I closed my eyes again and, keeping my head down, waited for him to blow up. But he doesn't. I hear him sigh and get up from the bed, and I don't know what to expect anymore. My heart is in my mouth, I don't know what he's going to do. But he surprises me. He kneels opposite me and puts one hand under my chin, lifting my face up.

I open my eyes, and he is looking at me and smiling, and my heart calms down, I felt so safe. He took my hands and said gently,

'Why didn't you just tell me?'

I can't get out of this now; I can't find a way out. But suddenly I'm filled with warmth, and it's not Aslan. I can't lie to him anymore. When I'm with him, I can finally be myself. So I just say,

'I have to save you all'

'Why, what's going to happen?'

'...You're all supposed to die in this war, and I have to change it. I have to stop it from happening'

'How do you know we're going to die?'

'Aslan told me. But I can't let it happen, he told me I had to help you when I came here, I didn't really know why, but I did it. I helped you and he came to me last night and says you're all meant to die and I have to stop it.'

I hadn't realised I was crying until he wipes a tear from my cheek, but I can't stop, once I started it just all came out,

'You wouldn't have believed me if I said anything, so I kept up the act. If I could get you to hate me, then you would keep me close. If I could get you to break my wand, you would all want to use me and keep me closer, so I went along with it. I made you break it because Peter is selfish, and you're not. If I didn't do anything, then I would just be in dungeons right now, and I wouldn't be able to help you'

'You know self sacrifice is stupid, right?'

'How would you know? Has Aslan ever asked you to do something like this?'

'Well...no. But I still don't get it. If Aslan came to you last night, then why all the acting with me, Lucy and Susan? Why not just talk to us?'

'I had to make you hate me. I had to make you see I'm not worth saving in all of this'

'Well, you haven't done a very good job. I've never hated you. You just, well yes, you did make me angry, but I love you! How could I ever go back on my word?'

'I don't know! But don't lie, you doubted me'

'Yes I did, but I never once hated you!'

'...I shouldn't be telling you this, you aren't supposed to know'

'That I'm going to die?'

'No, you are not going to die! You won't die while I'm here, you're going to rule for-for years and years until your old and grey and your children rule! You are not going to die'

'Well, I can help you there. As long as you promise to stay with me, then I won't go anywhere. Not without you'

'Alright then, I promise, you cheesy chipmunk'

He laughs and kisses me then, and I wrap my arms around his neck. I wish we could just stay like this, but I pull myself back to reality and break away from him. He smiles at me and helps me up. I can see its dark out, I hadn't realised how long we were in here. Ed sees me yawning and laughs,

'What? It's not a crime, you know'

'I know, I was just thinking, everyone must be looking for me by now'

'Yeah, and the entire time you were in the Witch's room. They are going to go ballistic'

I go to the washroom and get changed, cleaning up the hair I cut off this morning, I didn't have anything for him to change into, but he didn't complain. He plonked himself down on the chair, and I noticed the hair I left on the floor after fixing his hair. I clean it up with a wave of my hand, and Ed chuckles,

'Nice to see you don't need my permission anymore'

'Look...you can't tell anyone anything I said, you know that right?'

'I won't say a thing, I swear. Don't worry, I've got you'

I smile and go to bed, all the while trying not to think about him being in my room.

**Edmund POV**

I wake up and stretch, while I remember where I am, I notice the wood carvings on the ceiling of the bed. It's Lea's parents at their coronation. Wait, bed? I spring up to see Lea, already dressed and brushing her hair in her mirror, laughing at me,

'You sleep like a log, you know that? Without all the snoring I could have swore you were dead'

'How did I get over here?'

She wiggled her fingers at me, her flames twirling around them, and I should have guessed. She used Magic.

'Why, though? I was fine on the chair'

'You fell off the chair around 4 this morning, nearly gave me a heart attack, and yet you still didn't wake up. So, I moved you. It's no big deal'

'Well...thanks. I guess'

'You're welcome...I guess'

I frowned at her mocking me, but she stuck her tongue out at me and I couldn't help but smile. I got my Lea back.

I got up and walked over to her, and, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I mumbled into her neck,

'I'm glad you told me everything'

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently,

'I'm glad I told you too'

I pulled away from her and went to the washroom, shutting the door behind me. When I was dousing my face in cold water, trying to convince myself this was actually happening, that I wasn't just dreaming, I heard a door bang open, and Peter was shouting,

'Where is he?!'

I opened the door and my heart stopped. There Peter was, with Susan and Lucy behind him, with his sword at her throat and Susan's arrows pointed at her heart. Lucy saw me and tackled me with a hug,

'We didn't know where you were, you scared us'

Susan kept her eyes on Lea, and spoke to me coldly,

'Why didn't you yell for us?'

But Lea answered before I could,

'Both of us were yelling for hour's but hey, it's no big deal. I mean, at least he isn't dead'

Peter pressed the blade deeper into her neck, and she glared at him,

'Go for it, try and win this war without me. I dare you'

I sighed, and the act is back. But I knew she didn't want them to know, so I spoke to Peter,

'I followed her to make sure she went into her room, I wanted to talk to her about dividing up the patrol and before we knew it, someone had locked the door. We were yelling for ages, and we both gave up. We just waited until someone opened the door. That's it'

Peter turned to me and snarled,

'How did you end up here all night, Ed? Where did you sleep?'

I felt myself going red, but I continued,

'I slept in the chair Pete, I'm not exactly stupid, you know'

I gestured toward the chair, and Peter's blade eased away from Lea. Susan dropped her bow, but kept her arrow in her hand, Lucy watched me carefully, and when I looked at her, she winked quickly and looked away. She opened her hand a little and I saw the black key.

So, Lucy locked us in here. I made a mental note to buy her a huge birthday present. Peter stared at Lea, and, clearing his throat, spoke,

'I wanted to discuss our tactics with you today. So, if you wouldn't mind...?'

He gestured toward the door, and she nodded stiffly, before walking out of the room. Peter followed, and soon after, Susan. Lucy whispered to me,

'Did you talk?'

'Yeah, we did'

'Aaannnnddd...?'

'Trust her, Lucy. She's helping us'

'You won't tell me?'

'I swore I wouldn't, but I know she's not like Her at all'

'So, you still love her, right?'

I smiled, letting myself think over her words before answering,

'She promised to stay with me. If I could, I would do anything for her'

Soooo...do you? Just say yes or no!'

'Yes Lucy, yes, I love her with all my heart'

But I thought inwardly, maybe she didn't just come to save us from all from death. Maybe she came to find me.

**let me know what you think so far, everyone's reviews are amazing, thank you soo much! **

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	15. Chapter 15

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 15 – Prepare for Battle**

**Leona POV**

We had been going through plans for hours, and I had had enough. I was pretty sure after 4 hours had past, Susan had fallen asleep, after 6 hours Lucy went to 'help' Mr Tumnus and after a whopping 8 hours Edmund finally went to train soldiers. I was seriously about to strangle the lot of them, they just could not make up their minds. It was beyond ridiculous, one second Edmund wanted the army to split and ambush, the next Susan wanted a full attack, then Peter opts for a surprise attack at night.

None of them would of worked, let's face it, we're not exactly up against amateurs here, so when everyone else had bailed, I decided to let Peter know of my plan, and a tiny bit of my conversation with Aslan, just not telling him it was actually Aslan. When I was done Peter started at me with wide eyes,

'You're trying to tell me, the Witch's forces want you to lead them, and you want a party of them to come here so we can set up an ambush? Are you crazy?'

'Yes, I am. If I send them a message, tell them where to come and 'get' me, they'll think they can outsmart you. But that's when you'll be waiting, ready to attack. When that group don't return, it'll scare the rest. It'll jump start them into thinking that you are not fooling around here'

'...I suppose that is a fair idea, but where would you have them go?'

'The side entrances, near the courtyard, the trees are great coverage for archers, and the soldiers on foot can wait in the shadows. At night you can barely see a thing in there, let alone a small army'

'Yes, yes, I suppose it might just work...'

Peter was mulling over a map of the castle he had just pulled out from a huge pile, and I could tell he was covering up fear. I felt bad for him, despite what an idiot he is half the time. He needed to decide this war, which is a huge amount of pressure for anyone. Well, if he could lead an army against the White Witch, then I was pretty confident he only needed a nudge on the right direction.

He looked up at me then, and I could see in his eyes he wasn't sure,

'Leona, do you really think this will work?'

'Yes, I do. I wouldn't have told you if I didn't. But don't forget, this is just a small battle, you need to think of the bigger picture too'

'Yes, I guess so. Well, what do you think of the bigger picture?'

I walked up to his table and pulled out a large map of Narnian landscape, checking to make sure the land hadn't changed much since I last looked at plans like this,

'I think they will charge first, they will want to be in control. They will assemble here-'

I pointed to a large open area near to the North,

'-it gives them more space to run if they need to. They're cautious, so I would say keep your patrol ready, they may have spies everywhere'

Peter nodded, satisfied at my assessment, and straightened up, waving me away with his hand,

'I'll discuss this with our advisors. King Lune had sent his support for us, and has accompanied a large part of his army to join us'

'He knows about me, then?'

'Yes, he seemed to recognise your name in the letter I sent. You should meet him later today; his men are training right now'

Of course he would, I'm his ancestor. Judging from what I remember, my brother Frank would have ruled after my Dad died, so Theo and Col would have more than likely explored the rest of this world, I wasn't really that surprised that King Lune recognised my name The Archenlanders probably know more about me and my family than the Narnians do. I eye Peter, watching him study his maps for a minute, before asking,

'Where should I go?'

'Go help Edmund train the beginners. We need as many ready for this battle as possible'

'Do you think they would like a Witch training them?'

'I don't know, go ask them'

I sigh and trudge away; I was tired from my restless night. I still thought everything that happened yesterday and this morning was just a dream, and I was waiting to wake up. I thought of my recent, if slightly small, piece of freedom as I made my way to the training grounds, ignoring the whispers and the glares directed at me.

Before we wasted time with pointless plans, Peter had announced I was free to leave my room as I pleased, for 'good behaviour', but they knew I wasn't stupid, so if they thought I would try and get away now would just be stupid, plus I knew that they needed me to train the newcomers, because Oreius was busy helping Peter.

Well, at least now they let me wander around on my own. I know I was being watched constantly by everyone, but to know that someone wasn't following me all day made me a little bit more comfortable.

Lucy told me Maddok was okay, my illusion must be wearing off, because he had a room now to 'recover', on the other side of the castle. I wanted to see him, I wanted to talk to him, and I wanted to see my family's treasury, but for now it was too risky. I would just have to be patient and wait until tonight, and then I could sneak out.

I made it to the training grounds before I saw Glade hiding behind a corner, watching me. So I was still being followed. Typical. I sigh and continue on towards Edmund. He was teaching some of King Lune's men some defence strategies. I caught his eye, and I noticed the whole of the grounds was silent, the Narnians and Archenlanders all standing together to face against me.

I felt all their hatred rush towards me; it hit me like in huge waves, radiating from the ends of the grounds. It was almost too painful to handle. I spoke clearly, trying not to let myself cry and look weak, if they hated me, then fine. I don't care what they think,

'Peter sent me to help you train'

'Perfect, I could use an extra pair of hands. Would you show them some of the steps I was using?'

'Sure, no problem'

I blasted a mental thought at him, making sure the thought was in my voice so I wouldn't confuse him,

_Don't leave me alone. Feeling a lot of hate today_

I felt him try to answer me, he was really trying to direct his thoughts to me, but it was all jumbled. When I managed to decipher it, it was,

_I would never leave you anyway. Don't forget, there's a fine line between love and hate_

I went ahead and demonstrated the steps, ignoring their glares at me as I made sure they were doing it right. They were fast learners, so I decided to challenge them. I taught them how to use their strengths to their advantage and how to block a sword attack with no shield as well as disarming.

Eventually, they started to warm up to me, and the group grew bigger and bigger as I challenged them all further, and before long nearly all of the Archenlanders were learning how to be precise with attacks and quick with defence.

I let some challenge me to a duel, but let them see their flaws, going over moves in slow motion, letting them see my tricks to getting the right footwork. But I was bored, I enjoyed teaching them, don't get me wrong, but I wanted a real challenge. I left them practising and found Edmund instructing some poor Fauns on throwing daggers.

They were all soo terrified of the weapons that Edmund practically had to throw it for them, and even then when it hit a target they all jumped and stared braying, so I went over to them and said,

'Imagine, that poor tree over there is sad because of the sour apples it grows. It gets picked on by the dryads a lot, so please help the tree and get rid of the apples'

They all looked at the tree I was pointing to, and desperate to help, they started throwing daggers at the apples, some even getting a good hit. Ed laughed and stared at me in disbelief,

'I've been trying to get them to do that for hours, how did you do that?'

'It's nothing, just one of my many fabulous gifts'

'I should seriously start a list, you have far too many'

I walked up close to him, and fiddled with the neck of his tunic,

'Well...why don't you see what else you can add to that list?'

I pulled his sword out of his belt and danced away when he tried to get it back.

'Hey! That's not fair, you distracted me!'

'Well, you have your tricks, I have mine'

'All right then, just so you know, I'm a better swordsman than Peter, anyone can tell you that'

'Getting cocky are we?'

'Just warning you'

'Ohh, whatever you say chipmunk'

He picked up a sword from a rack nearby, testing it before squaring off to face me,

'Okay, you have to stop calling me that! Are you sure you want to do this? I don t fight like those Archenlanders, or even Peter'

'Exactly'

And I lunged at him. Our blades met with a loud clang that rang out across the grounds. We parried for a while and he was good, I'll give him that, but he still had a lot to learn. He tried to catch my blade with the hilt of his sword, but I leaned into it, twisting his sword out of his grip and spinning out of his reach. I decided to experiment a little, so I tossed his sword onto the grass and readied myself.

He raised his eyebrows, seizing me up, before darting forward, but I was ready. I cartwheeled on one hand, forcing him to move away, before catching the blade on the toe of my boot and, kicking it upwards, I caught it with my free hand. I twisted and had the sword at his throat before he could move an inch.

He was gasping, his eyes wide, and when I relaxed and moved away from him, he laughed,

'Wow that was amazing! Seriously, those are the best manoeuvres I've ever seen'

'Ohh come on, it's not even hard; I could show you'

'You will?'

'Sure, if you want'

His eyes twinkled and he looked like a kid on Christmas morning, so I thought, what the heck, just show him now. I saw a crowd had started to gather, and they all were eyeing our exchange eagerly. I hated people watching me, let alone knowing people where watching, so I blocked them out and focused on helping Edmund as much as I can. It's not like I would get another chance to help him train any time soon.

I kept the two swords and threw him a third, and I started twirling my swords slowly. I saw Ed look at me warily, so I started to talk him through it,

'Watch my hands, watch how I move. I'm going to speed up slowly, and when you're ready, I want you to stop them both'

'Both? How am I supposed to for that?'

'Believe you can for a start! Just watch, ignore everything else, and concentrate on me'

'But what if I'm in a battle and there's about three enemies coming at me, what do I do then?'

'Stop thinking big! Just think baby steps. You know how to defend yourself; you just need to learn how to get better, how to anticipate a swordsman who will be better than you, who will use different variations of weapons, and you have to know as much about each as you can. So, concentrate and stop my swords'

I sped up a little, and each time I saw in his eyes he found a gap in the twirling blades, I sped up even more, and before long the blades are spinning so fast they look like a shining swirl of silver. Ed's eyes are focused, his sword hand tightened, and that was when I saw the white Tiger.

It all happened too fast, Ed had caught my blades but twisted too quickly, wrenching one sword out of my grip and the other sliced deep into my shoulder. The Tiger held my gaze and coldly flitted between me and Edmund, before pouncing.

I shoved a shocked Ed out of harm's way and let the tiger pin me to the ground, his claws digging into the ground near my head, the Narnians and the Archenlanders all panicked and started to run in case more came, some bravely tried to stay, but the Tiger's growls and snarls sent even the bravest fleeing.

He was twice the size of any Tiger they had ever seen, his head was level to a centaur's back, his claws at least 3 inches, and his teeth the same. But all I could think of was Edmund somewhere behind me, and the tiger's terrible breath. This guy needed some mint leaves or something.

I glared at him, trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder, and he caught my stare, he saw my eyes and his snarl caught in his throat. He pulled away from me and let me sit up, bowing his head at me in fear,

'You're Leona? The princess?'

'Unless you know anyone else with my eyes'

'I-I'm sorry, princess. I thought you were just an acquaintance of that little King'

'That's alright, though I would hardly say acquaintance. Is he still over there behind me?'

'Yes, he hit his head. He's coming around now'

'So we don't have much time, here's the deal. You all want me to help you, right?'

'Yes! I was sent by Veskil to find you. We want your leadership. Queen Jadis left you as her heir; we need you, Princess'

'What's your name?'

'Silver, Princess'

'Okay Silver. You've to send a party to come get me. As many as you can without alerting anyone. Bring them here, then go on up there and you'll find large doors hidden between two maple trees, go through it and you'll be in a courtyard. I'll be there at midnight tonight. Meet me there and we can escape'

He licked his paw and his ears twitched,

'I'll tell Veskil. We can kill as many as possible with you on our side, could you use Magic?'

'No, this one here broke my wand'

'Then what do we do?'

The sound of trumpets and the thump of oncoming Narnians made Silver jump, and he was restless, snarling occasionally, I got to my feet and told him quickly,

'If we kill them tonight, then I can use Magic. Remember, the courtyard at midnight'

'See you then Princess. Long live the Queen'

And he ran, bounding through the trees at top speed, just as the crowd emerged from the opposite side, with weapons ready at hand. Edmund placed his hand on my wounded shoulder and I hissed, pulling away from him. I healed it quickly as Ed spoke,

'Ohh, I'm soo sorry about that. I'm soo stupid I wasn't thinking. Genius idea there, but Peter is going to kill you'

'It's alright, I've had worse. And Peter's already going to kill me, so I'll just sped it up a little'

Edmund led me through the crowd as they began to scour the trees for any more tigers. He took me to Peter's study, were Susan and Lucy were seated and waiting for us. Peter had his head in his hands and when Susan nudged him, he looked up at us, particularly me,

'Care to explain?'

'Sure, I helped you kick-start this stupid war'

The three of them jumped up from their seats, and Peter shouted,

'There was Tiger near the castle today! What did you do, did you call it?'

'If I could call them, why would I only call one? Would u stop with the facial expressions? You just look ridiculous. No, I didn't call him; I just had a lovely conversation and set up an ambush for you. You're welcome'

Peter looked at Ed wildly and stammered,

'W-what is s-she talking about, Ed?'

'I'm not too sure Pete; I was knocked out for most of it'

Susan turned to me,

'What arrangements did you make exactly?'

'A large group will come into the courtyard tonight through the old doors by the maple trees, I'll be the bait and all you have to do is wait and then ambush them. That's it'

'So you just decided to do this when the Tiger was attacking?'

'Not attacking, he was looking for me'

'So you did call him?'

'Ohh for the love of sweet juniper trees's, I'm not going to sit here and explain myself so fine, if you think I called them, then you go ahead and just think that. I couldn't really give a Faun's hooves what you think anymore. But I'm telling you, you need to get the ambush ready now'

Lucy looked from Edmund to me and spoke up, looking at Peter and Susan haughtily,

'Well, Peter, get a group sorted, Susan, get some archers and dryads ready. Ed, stay here I want to look at your head'

Well, at least she was bossy when she wants to be. Peter and Susan hastily left, and when they did Lucy tackled me with a hug,

'I knew you weren't evil! Peter is such a drama king, I should never have let him treat you the way he has, but I thought you were like Her. But then me and Ed worked out a plan and I locked you both in your room to talk and-'

'Wait, you did that?'

'-well, yes but don't interrupt me yet! Anyway, I was hoping he would get something out of you, because, well, you know, you two lovebirds and all, so it worked! Ed told me, I hope you don't mind, and we want to help. So, what's the plan to stop us from dying?'

I had never heard someone talk soo fast in all my life. Except squirrels maybe. I turned to Edmund, taking deep breaths and trying not to lose my temper,

'So when you said you wouldn't say anything, you were just lying?'

'What? No, Lucy is my sister, she was worried about you'

'And what exactly did you not get by the fact that I shouldn't have even told you! Now Lucy knows it's more dangerous'

Lucy butted in,

'How is it more dangerous? It's only more dangerous for you!'

'If you know what's going to happen, then you'll try to change and that'll make it worse! No one should know they're fates, it's not natural'

'Then why do you know?'

'I'm supposed to stop it! Aslan shouldn't be meddling with fate, but he is with you four, you're all important to him and he doesn't want you dead'

'Then won't there be consequences? If we're meant to die, then won't people die in our place?'

That is actually a pretty good question and she had a point, a life for a life. Aslan must have some serious cards up his sleeve for these guys if he wants them to live and let others die in their place.

'I don't know yet Lucy; I'm just here to help Aslan'

'Okay then, so what do we do?'

'The ambush tonight will kick-start the war. When it happens, we should let some go alive to tell the rest of the army. We could send some birds to follow them and find the army base, then get ready for the battle'

Edmund shuffled from one foot to the other,

'Okay, so speaking of the ambush, what are you going to do?'

'Easy, I'm the bait. They want me, so I'll be in the courtyard waiting for them'

But the only problem was, this whole plan, the way the Tiger just happened to be there when I needed him; it was going a little too smoothly for my liking. I had a bad feeling in my gut something was going to happen.

**Edmund POV**

There was no way in Aslan's name I would let her be bait without a fight, but she looked so determined I didn't want to question her. She knew what she was doing, unlike us. I felt so inexperienced next to her, even Peter didn't have an exact plan yet, and here she was, already setting up ambushes and saving our lives.

Aslan should have woken her during the Witch's reign and then when we helped her defeat the Witch, Aslan should have crowned Lea. She would have been a better ruler than the four of us put together. I mulled this over in my head and I caught Lea staring at me,

'Don't doubt yourself. You're more important in this than you think, you too Lucy. You and your family have done more for Narnia than most have in their entire lives. Trust me; Aslan is right to want you to live'

But who will die in our place? A Narnian, a friend. I didn't want to think about it, so I sat and listened to Lucy gush over me and Lea while trying not to go red,

'-but you too are literally perfect for each other! I should be Queen Lucy the Matchmaker!'

I sighed and mumbled,

'Lucy you didn't set us up'

'Ohh, are you sure about that? Who helped Lea fool Prince Rabadash and make you realise you love her? Who locked you too in your room together where you realised she was good all along? Who-'

'Alright, alright, I get it, Queen Matchmaker'

Lea was laughing hysterically at us, and I couldn't help but notice how cute she was when she laughed. She had a sort of giggly laugh, and it was infectious, because before long me and Lucy were laughing too. Leona stopped laughing and rubbed her head, before looking at us shyly,

'Do you think I could go to the treasury? I want to see it'

Lucy smiled at her before turning to me,

'You take her. I'm going to check on our furry friend'

'How is Maddok anyway?'

'Ohh, he's fine. Scares the other healers, but I think he's really interesting. I think he likes me a little, last time he didn't growl at me'

And with that she left us alone. Lea was still rubbing her head and she smiled at me,

'Are you sure it's okay? I don't really want Peter or anyone to get mad at you'

The way she was looking at me, she looked almost shy for once. By the Lion's Mane, she is beautiful. I just smiled and gestured toward the door,

'Don't worry about Peter, I can handle him. Come on, you should see it'

I followed her out the door towards the treasury, there weren't many people about, and I guess they were all getting ready for tonight. We made it to the wall, and Lea found the small tree carved into the stone. Before long the door was open and we were greeted by a blast of cold air. It was pitch black, so Lea took a torch for both of us and lit them quickly, handing me one.

'Will you go ahead? I don't really like the dark'

'Okay, sure. Well, I guess that's two things now'

'What are you talking about?'

'Well, between falling up stairs and being scared of the dark, you aren't really keeping up your prefect image very well, are you?'

'Ohh shut up'

She was giggling, so at least I made her smile. I remembered I still had to teach her chess, if we got out of this war that is. I descended down the dark tunnel, keeping close to her in case she was still afraid. When we reached the bottom I began lighting the other torches until the whole room was lit.

Lea was walking around, looking at the statues of her parents; she placed her hand on the hem of her father's stone cloak, before she went to her mother and did the same to her mother's dress.

I looked at her father's statue. Lea looked a lot like her father; she had the same look on her face when she was trying not to laugh. Her mother was beautiful, but in a different way than Lea. It was hard to describe, her mother looked uncomfortable, and her smile looked forced, whereas Lea was effortless.

I watched her smile up at her brother's stone grins and tears were falling down her face, I heard her mumble,

'The last time I saw them, they looked younger. I wonder how old they were when these were made.'

She reached her crypt and she knelt, I walked over to join her, I didn't really feel like I should be there with her, this is her family, all she has left of them. It didn't seem right to me that I was intruding on her time with her family. But still, she would have asked for time alone if she didn't want me there, so I stayed.

She pulled the slab of stone away from the top, and gasped. He father's sword glittered and she lifted it up, before smiling faintly at her father's message on the blade. She slid the sword into the belt around her waist, so that was what the belt was for, that was why she kept it. It was her father's.

She rummaged through the drawings, occasionally laughing as she looked at her younger self's scribbles and nonsense. She showed me pictures of her brothers, her dryad teacher called Oak, her drawings of Cair, before she tentatively picked up her crown.

She fiddled with it; she didn't really know what to do. But she was a princess, and people needed to know. I took the crown from her and adjusted it, the crown wasn't closed the whole away around like mine, so I could pull it gently to make it wider, before placing it gently on her head.

I could see then why her crown was made of suns and stars, her eyes literally sparkled, and she looked like a princess, like one out of the picture books Lucy would read when she was little. She was radiant, and right then I wished her family were here to see her.

I stopped her when she tried to take it off,

'No, everyone needs to know'

'It'll just make them think my betrayal was worse, I can't. I'll just not wear it'

I saw something glitter out of the corner of my eye, and I saw Lea's wand, the two pieces perched nearby. I reach over, ignoring Lea's gasps of protest, and I pick up the two pieces.

'No, Ed, don't mess with it. It's unpredictable now it's broken. It could kill you...I'm serious here! Pay attention!'

But I didn't hear her, all I saw was the faint sparks falling out of the broken ends, and I felt the urge to put them together. I heard Lea yell and try to reach me, but she couldn't. Something was stopping her. I put the pieces together and the sparks grew stronger, hotter. They seared my hands and the sleeves of my tunic, the pain shocked me back to reality, but it was too late.

The wand glowed a bright gold, so bright I closed my eyes, I was sure I was going to die. I could faintly hear Lea yelling my name, and I felt the gold light pierce into my head, and suddenly everything went black.

**let me know what you think, and thanks for all of your reviews so far :) xxx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 16 – Edmund Sees Death**

**Edmund POV**

When my eyes focused, I saw I was lying in the middle of Lea's room. Her room was completer chaos, the table was in pieces, the ceiling and the walls were ripped and scorched, and Lea's bed was in tatters, the broke frame tossed around the room. And in the middle of the chaos, yelling her head off was Lea.

'Lea, what's going-?'

'Ohh, yes, please go right ahead and get yourselves killed you worthless pile of idiots!'

'Umm...Lea? Hello?'

I waved my hands in front of her face, but she kept looking stonily toward the door, before walking right through me to pound on it with her fists,

'Fine! Go ahead Ed; get yourself killed for all I care. You should have listened to me and let me keep my Magic!'

I was soo confused, but then it just go weird, I heard my voice yell from the other side of the door,

'I won't let you die for us Lea! You'll die if I let you go out there, so please, just wait until we get back, then you can have your Magic back'

'You aren't coming back if I don't go with you!'

I heard myself sigh and mumble,

'Lea you've done enough for us. The ambush was brilliant and you helped me train. King Lune loved your story about the lullaby and now you want to do this suicide mission? It's too much'

'But Ed, _please_, you'll die-'

'If I die then I'll know I'll see you in Aslan's Country. I love you Lea, please understand'

I heard the other me walk away, and Lea starts to cry, angrily punching the door again before sliding down it and clasping her head in her hands. I wanted to comfort her, to hold her and tell her it'll be okay, but my hand passed through her shoulder, so I just sat beside her as she whispered,

'I love you too you idiot. More than you think'

She stood up, me following, and crawled under her bed. When she returned, she had the two pieces of her wand in each hand. She muttered something and put the pieces together, before the wand sealed itself in gold light.

When the light dimmed, the wand was intact. Lea frowned at the door and turned to the window instead. She blasted it open, before whistling into the night air. In the distance I could hear the battle cries as the two armies approached each other.

So this must be what's going to happen during the war. I must have done something to Lea's wand; she's going to kill me. But this Lea just waited until a griffon suddenly appeared in the open air,

'Princess, are you ready?'

'I have to be'

She climbed onto the griffon and I pulled myself on behind her. The griffon took off, soaring quickly above the trees, before landing just behind a group of trees. From here, we could see both armies on either side of the large space. I could make out Peter on the front line, and beside him, there was me. Lea was taking deep breath and muttering to herself,

'Come on, you were sent here for a reason. Remember what Aslan said'

She got off the griffon and he took off again, soaring away to take his place with the other griffons. Lea steeled herself, and just as the two armies started yelling at each other, she started to run, and I followed her.

She ran until she was between both armies, before stabbing her wand into the ground. Immediately a huge wall erupted from gold flame, separating the two armies from each other. I saw myself pull my helmet up and watch in horror as I realised that Lea wasn't on our side of the wall. I saw myself yell,

'No, Lea. Don't!'

Lea smiled grimly as I watched myself try to get through the wall of flames, but it was impossible. Peter simply said,

'This is a death sentence, I hope you know that'

'I know, and maybe then you'll listen for once'

And with that, she turned to face the army in front of her, alone. They all looked shocked, but one Wolf stepped forward, far larger than the rest, and it snarled,

'You think you can defeat all of us? We could kill you in a heartbeat, little princess'

Lea just snarled back,

'I dare you to try'

The Wolf howled and sprang toward her, the army following. I couldn't just stand here and watch, so I stood beside her and tried to help, to pull the sword from my belt, but my hand just passed through it.

Leona suddenly stretched her hands forward, and fire creatures exploded from the wall of flames, each a fiery replica of our soldiers. They raced forward and met the army in a clash of gold sparks. Leona looked tired, but she pulled out her father's sword and attacked the large Wolf that advanced on her.

It was amazing and terrifying at the same time. Lea had created an entire army out of fire, and was now fighting, and she was ten times better than she ever let on to being. She sliced and ducked, twirled and stabbed. She was amazing, twirling her sword so fast it was a blur of shiny silver.

I was still trying to get past the wall, yelling and crying at the same time. The rest of the army was just standing there in shock, some cheering Lea on. Susan and Lucy had joined Peter and were watching the fight in terror. Peter looked actually worried. Leona was doing far better than I expected, her fire army were amazing, if they were stabbed or cut, they just pulled the weapon out and continued on, more fire just washing over the wounds.

I could have sworn I saw a live Lion, and not just any Lion, Aslan himself, in the middle of the fray, and he was looking at me. Not the me still trying to help Lea, but right at me. He nodded at me sadly before facing Lea and vanishing into the crowd.

I saw Lea then, and then I was running, trying not to run into anyone, well, I ended up running through everyone. She was covered in cuts, her shoulder was torn from the Wolf's claws, and she was limping badly. The Wolf was crouched; ready to pounce on her, his eyes gleamed in triumph. But Lea had the last laugh, as many of the army had already run, the rest were defeated by her fire Magic.

The war was over, and we had won. The Narnians cheered as the wall started to disappear, and me, Peter, Susan and Lucy started to make our way towards Lea, but the Wolf wasn't done yet, he snarled at Lea,

'I'll just kill them all now; you're too weak to help them'

'I won't let you hurt them'

Lea lunged and stabbed the Wolf in the shoulder; he yelped and growled at her, before pouncing. But Lea wasn't watching the Wolf; she was mouthing something to the other me sadly as I began to run towards her,

_I love you_

And the Wolf's fangs found her throat.

I woke to Lea shaking me, and I was back in the treasury. I jumped up, trying to get my head around what I just saw. Lea was watching me,

'Are you okay?'

'How long was I out?'

'At least a second, you just fell to the floor and then you woke up, why what happened?'

'Umm...nothing, nothing. It was just all bright lights and stuff'

'Okay, well you should put the pieces back over there. Peter probably won't want them moved or anything'

'Yeah, sure'

I put the wand back, trying to sort out what just happened in my head. Lea at the hands of that Wolf just made me want to hunt the dog down. I wanted to kill it before it hurts her. I wasn't sure what I was going to do.

Lea had taken her crown off and was putting it back in the treasury, along with her drawings, but she kept her father's sword in her belt. The sword she dies fighting with. My head was spinning and I pulled Lea towards me, holding her close, and she wrapped her arms around me. I couldn't lose her, not just to save me; I could barley register Lea talking to me,

'We should get back now, if you're feeling alright. Peter said King Lune was here this morning so he'd probably want you to go talk to them'

I nodded and followed her up the stairs, but keeping hold of her hand. I was still unfocused, but I did know, I was not going to let her die.

**i'm sorry this is just a short chapter, but it is important for later on, and now Edmund has an agenda ;) please let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 17 – King Lune And The Lullaby**

**Leona POV**

He was jumpy ever since he woke up, and to be honest, I had no idea why my wand showed him that. And for my wand to act on its own so suddenly, it did freak me out a little. Seeing my death, that's like ruining the last chapter of a book. There wasn't much point in worrying about it, I mean, if I die, I die; there isn't much I can do about it anyway.

So why would my wand show him that? It would scare him, and knowing Edmund he will try to change it. That's the thing with my wand; sometimes it has a mind of its own, and I hate it for it. There was no need to scare him like that, now he looks absolutely petrified, and he keeps looking at me like I'm going to vanish right in front of him. It's unnerving, and with us going to meet King Lune, he wasn't really calming my nerves.

We entered the dining room quickly, just as King Lune was chuckling at Lucy acting out an adventure she and Mr Tumnus had. He saw us come in and stood immediately, followed by his men. He stared at me like he didn't know what to make of me, before he bowed to Edmund and walked toward me. He clasped my hand and knelt, before announcing,

'I have heard many tales of you and your family, but to meet you, the Little Lioness, it's extraordinary! Tell me; is it true the werewolf Maddok is still alive also?'

'Umm...Yes, he's in the castle'

'Ohh this is splendid! You must have told the young Kings and Queens of your spectacular adventures, and I have soo many questions for you!'

Peter was gobsmacked, and Lucy was rolling in her seat laughing at his expression. Susan was talking to an Archenland general and wasn't paying attention and Edmund wasn't sure what to do. King Lune pulled me over and pushed me into the seat next to him so he could continue talking and the whole table sat and listened to us.

Edmund was being very sly and sat beside me, holding my hand under the table and squeezing it gently,

'So, are all the stories true?'

'Umm...well-I don't really know the stories'

'Ohh my apologies, well, one if my personal favourites is the one where you make the deal with the witch as a child, then is held captive and when you escape on the back of a griffon, and you are betrayed by Maddok and his brother and you both are handed over to the Witch inside the Narnian border, where you are turned to stone and the Witch has to leave as the Tree of Protection forces her to, and she takes Narnia under her control years later and makes it all snow and ice so she can search and try to find you BUT Aslan hides your statue until you can be awoken again!'

'Well...that's pretty much...it'

'Ohh I knew it! It's the most dramatic turn-of-event tale ever! I heard it as a child and I just loved it! And you're hair, its soo...different!

'...thank you?'

'Well that's quite alright, but enough of my ogling I really must ask you, is your brother really King Col, the First King of Archenland? Does your father's sword really exist? Why did Maddok betray you? Can you really use Magic?'

And with that Peter, acting like a right pompous idiot, spoke up,

'Well, yes. She can as a matter of fact. Edmund, show King Lune'

Edmund eyed me and I squeezed his hand gently, he spoke loudly,

'Leona, create a fire creature'

I snapped my fingers and a replica of King Lune appeared. He clapped and inspected the fire King,

'Remarkable! And the exact opposite of the Witch, I see. Fire trumps ice in my opinion, but King Edmund, why did you have to tell her what to do?'

And Peter went into the whole story, my arrival, Maddok, the competitions, finding out the truth, the dance and the fight, my exchange with the Tiger and the ambush tonight. King Lune listened intently, before turning to me and muttering,

'They think you're an evil nuisance, don't they?'

And he turns to King Peter,

'So you had this girl on lockdown due to her use of Magic, am I right? Well, personally if I were her I would have set you all straight days ago. She's not causing trouble for you, she's saving you! Honestly, you are young so you do have a bit to learn but still, I've heard enough to doubt your judgement High King'

Without waiting for Peter's reply, King Lune turned to me again,

'Your brother was a huge inspiration to me, the way he marched into Archenland and called it home was remarkable. Tell me, why did he call it Archenland?'

'...I guess because my other brother Theo was an avid archer. Those two were very close; they were more like twins'

'And what became of Prince Theo?'

'Ohh, he set sail and found some islands off the coast. He settled there and named them the Lone Islands I believe. It said in a book I read in the library'

'I thought you had three brothers?'

'Ohh I did. Frank stayed behind and ruled after my father, he would have been called King Frank II'

'And do you know what happened to your parents?'

'No, I didn't see them after I made the deal with Jadis'

'And the Witch taught you Magic, correct?'

'Yes, but I was already born with it'

This went on for too long, he just wasn't satisfied with my answers. He admired my brothers, and told me stories of Col's feats as King of Archenland, he also told me tales of the battles my father won, and the stories the dryads told about my return,

'They say the morning you were turned to stone; the sun itself didn't want to rise. It wanted to mourn. Aslan had to make the sun rise and that was when He declared no one would sing your song'

'I have a song?'

'Yes, umm...something about silver light and starlit skies. It's a beautiful song; your mother sang it to you. But when Aslan told your parents what happened to you, He said there was too much power in the words, and forbid anyone to sing it. The words are forgotten now, but sometimes you can hear the dryads whisper the tune across their leaves on your birthday'

The song, Mum's song. I look at King Lune and say,

'Is this the song you're talking about?

_Silver light  
She turned her face up to the starlit sky  
And on this night began to wonder why  
She knew that soon the day would come_

Born to be  
An heir of beauty and serenity  
Into this world she entered quietly  
To her surprise she was the one'

'Yes, that's the one! You have a lovely voice but, Ohh my dear! Look at your hands!'

My hands had lit on fire, scorching the table with my handprints. Whoops, I blew it. Peter leapt from his seat and pointed at me,

'You can't use Magic unless I-Edmund says so! How-how is that possible?'

King Lune laughed and said,

'There's more power in words than you would think, you know. I don't doubt Aslan linked the song to your Magic'

I extinguished the flames and, letting my rage fill me, I snapped at Peter and rose from my seat,

'If I wanted you dead, do you really think I would wait this long? You're being ridiculous Peter, and I've had enough! I'll be in my room if you want me. It was nice to meet you King Lune'

I blasted the doors open with gold fire for good measure, and stormed away to my room. I shouldn't have lost it, but he had it coming for a while now.

**Lucy POV**

I wanted to run after her, to make sure she was okay. But while I rose from my seat and was about to follow her, but I stopped myself. She needed space and time to think on her own. I would check on her later. Instead, I went up to Peter and smacked his arm,

'That was so rude Peter Pevensie! You go and apologise as soon as she lets you near her!'

Peter yelped and eyed me as if to say,

_We have guests, behave yourself._

How could he think about guests at a time like this? And King Lune was lovely anyway, so I wasn't embarrassed. He was laughing at me anyway, so take that, Peter! I hated how he acted when Lea was around, like she was a bug on his shoe or something. She had more manners than he did in his pinky finger!

I saw Edmund was staring at his plate, not eating anything. This is weird, Edmund never stops eating. He has food in his room all the time, sometimes I go visit him and we have lunch. I sat back in my seat and waited until everyone was finished and leaving, before rushing over to King Lune,

'You see? I told you she was innocent!'

'Yes, Peter is certainly sure she is like the Witch. I see what you meant now in your letter'

'And Lea and Edmund? You saw then, right?'

'Yes, I did. They were holding hands under the table. They love each other, but I don't think this will be easy. War takes its toll on everyone'

'So, what do you think will happen?'

'I think the next time something fishy happens, Peter will blame Leona and put her on trial. I'll keep an eye on him; I might be able to talk him out of doing something stupid'

'Thank you'

'Anytime, child'

I left him then, I wanted to check on Maddok. For the past few days, I had been taking care of him. He doesn't talk much, but he snaps at the other healers and they're all scared of him. If I'm honest, I feel sorry for him. To lose his brother, to have to live for hundreds of years on his own, it must get awfully lonely, and I wanted to help him.

I walked in and smiled at him,

'Hello! Did you have a good sleep?'

He grunted and sat staring out the window as I changed the dressing on his wound. It was clearing up faster each day, and I had a funny feeling Lea used Magic on it to make it look worse than it actually was, because if you squint and look at it closely, I can see a thin veil over the top of the infection, like a covering or something.

I wasn't sure what it was, but I suspected that Magic had something to do with it, so I just treated it normally, and thank Aslan, now it wasn't so bad. I finished wrapping the bandage and turn to Maddok,

'So, remember I asked you a question yesterday? Do you think you could answer me today?'

Maddok caught my eye and grumbled slowly,

'Not supposed to tell you, kid. Not my place'

'Please? I want to help you'

He looked at me closely, before snorting and staring out the window,

'Fine. I'm here because I'm helping Lea. I'm supposed to get the ball rolling and make sure everything stays in its place, otherwise it won't work'

'What won't work?'

'Aslan wants to change your fates, so he has to make sure that your fates don't change too much, otherwise you may die anyway, and while Leona keeps you all alive, I make sure the sacrifices are ready'

'Who are the sacrifices?'

'You should probably go and get ready, Little Queen, tonight will be...difficult'

**Edmund POV**

Susan pulled me to one side after dinner and hissed,

'Tell me what's going on, please? Lucy won't say anything and Peter's annoying me with battle plans'

'What do you want to know?'

She grabbed my arm and hauled me into the nearest spare room,

'Everything. Now. Tell me absolutely everything'

I knew Lea would kill me, but I needed to talk to someone about what I saw. The thought of her dying constantly crept into my head all the time; I needed to know what Susan thought. When I was done, she sighed and rubbed her temples,

'Maybe she was trying to trick you. You saw her use magic without your consent; she may have been using the rumour to her advantage. That's the problem; she's so unpredictable at times that I have no idea what she would do next'

'Susan, I knew she could use Magic, I just told you'

'I know, but what if she's planning something and is just using you. I know you said you love her, but she might not love you back'

'She wouldn't do that-'

'-How do you know? You barely know her as it is!'

'Susan, stop! For once, stop judging her! You were her friend, then Peter said one thing and now you don't trust her at all. Make up your mind for Aslan's sake-'

'I have. I say we can't trust her until she understands she has to trust us'

'Fine. But you'll be the one apologising'

'Maybe you will too'

I left her in the room and wandered about the castle. Honestly, I had no idea where I was going, so I ended up in my room, trying to think of ways to save Lea as I changed into my armour. I could try and make her go North...I could pray for Aslan to turn her back to stone until the fighting stops...I could get Elvin and Keela to mix herbs together to make her sleep...no, no, no. None of these would work, and then she would probably kill me for trying.

But I still have to save her, so if I have to make her angry at me, then fine. At least she'll still be alive...very angry, but alive. I won't be able to keep an eye on her the entire time, Peter wants me on the front lines with him, so unless I tie her to Philip, there is no way I could get her to see sense. But then a crazy idea floated into my head. Probably my craziest yet.

If _I_ couldn't save her, then maybe someone else could. I left my room in a hurry, just as Narnians rushed passed me in armour, readying themselves as the sun set. And I was about to do the stupidest thing ever.

**Leona POV**

I decided to stay in my room until they needed me; I wasn't quite ready to face Peter and the others until I was composed. I doubt having puffy red eyes would prove to them my tough act was still true. Everything was crumbling around me; Edmund seemed to be the only one who truly understands me. Without him I would be in pieces, and to know when I get through this that he is waiting for me, is the only thing that stops me from calling it off.

Lucy came to get me, her hair a mess and her armour on wrong. I gently fix it and plait her hair back as she sits numbly on my bed. When I am done she turns and looks at me,

'How are you doing?'

'It doesn't matter. How are you feeling about tonight?'

'I'm scared for you'

'Why? It's going to be okay'

'You don't know that. And I know that Peter is really angry with you, and Susan is too, I think. Edmund is worried, he hasn't spoken much or told a joke in a while now, and I don't know what to think anymore'

'You know you can ask me anything Lucy. I'll try to help'

'You're doing too much for us, yet we do so little for you. You're here to save us and Peter is planning to have a trial for your actions so far'

'It doesn't matter. I'm doing what I have to. And so is Peter'

'I just wish they would all just sit down and listen to me! Believe me, I've tried, but all they say is 'You're too young Lucy, this is complicated' or 'Wait until your older Lucy, then you'll understand'. I'm sick of people telling me I'm too young to understand things! I know stuff! I know why Maddok is here, I know about the sacrifices, but do you think they'd believe me? No! So I won't tell them, not until they listen'

The whole time she spoke, tears were running down her cheeks. I understood how she felt; I used to be the youngest too. I put my arm around her shoulders and she rests her head on my shoulder. I smooth back her hair and mumble,

'Maddok shouldn't have told you'

'Why? Because I'm 'too young'?'

'No...he shouldn't be telling anyone Aslan's orders'

'But you did, you told Edmund'

'I told him what he needed to know, the rest is between Aslan and me'

'I see. This is getting very complicated, isn't it?'

'How is it complicated?'

'Well, from you being a lost Princess, Maddok being an evil villain turned good, Peter being an absolute single minded idiot and Edmund is falling in love with you. Not to mention your Magic and you and Peter's 'issues', as well as this war and the army that is going to try and hurt people...it's getting a bit much'

'When you put it like that, yes, I suppose so. Well, I'm sorry for making this all so confusing'

'Not confusing, just complicated. I mean, what are you and Edmund going to do?'

'What do you mean? We're fine'

'Well...when you make the sacrifice, what will it do to him?'

'What are you talking about?'

'Well...Maddok said the sacrifices had to be ready, and I'm assuming you're involved in the sacrifice section of it'

'No, I don't know what Maddok's getting at. I have no intention of 'sacrificing' anything yet'

'Ohh...well I suppose that's a good thing'

'You're taking all of this very well. When Peter eventually loses it you should make all the decisions'

She giggled and sat up, wiping her eyes and smiling faintly at me,

'I would be good at bossing everyone about'

We both smiled and there was a knock on the door, Elvin popped his head in,

'Queen Lucy, Lady Leona, we need you both now'

We both stood, and Lucy grabbed me hand. Her hands were clammy; I could see how pale she was and how fast she was breathing. I squeezed her hand gently and said just as Elvin retreated out the door to wait for us,

'Deep breaths. No matter what, don't think and just stay alert. You're going to be alright, Lucy. Do you hear me?'

She nodded faintly and whispered,

'The last time I saw fighting Aslan was there; I'm not very Valiant if I can't fight'

'People are valiant in their own ways. Don't think fighting is the only way to be brave'

She looked at me, and there it was again. That same look she gave me in the clearing before Maddok attacked, the face of a Queen. She kept my hand in hers, as we both left the comfort of my room to face our enemies, though they may be very different, Lucy's fear of letting people down, and my fear of what is to come. However, we stood together, and I felt like I had a family again; I finally had a sister.

**let me know if you have any suggestions for me i would love to know what you think. i took my time writing this chapter, though there isnt much action, i promise its quite important for later on. i have most of it organised now, i'm very proud of myself (i'm not very organised so this is a big step for me lol) :)**

**let me know what you would like to happen, and i have a little proposal for you. if you send me a name for a narnian and what the character is e.g. faun, fox, centaur etc i may include them briefly in a pivotal part of the story. i want you to be involved in the story :)**

**send me a review pretty please?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Little Lioness**

**Chapter 18 – A Storm Is Coming**

**Leona POV**

I had been sitting there for over an hour, and I was already extremely bored. An hour ago Peter had told me they would be here soon, some of the patrol saw a large group in the forest not far from here, but they still hadn't arrived yet. Everyone was waiting, archers were in the trees around me, and the Pevensie's were hiding in the shadows nearby. I could feel them all watching me, and I shifted uncomfortably.

I should have changed; this dress was useless for fighting in. The only thing they gave me was a long black cloak with a hood I kept up to cover my eyes, Peter complained that my eyes glow in the dark and distracted the archers, so I complied to his stupid ideas, while Edmund very subtly passed me a knife that I slid into my boot. I listened to the trees rustle in the breeze and the stars shining above me; I tried not to think about the air, tense with anticipation. If I thought about it, I would start to panic.

The moon was full, and restless. It must have seen so many nights like this, were a battle was coming. It must have seen soo many people die in wars like this. I shook the ideas from my head, and listened carefully. And there it was, the shuffle of large paws, the grunts and stumbles, the clang of metal and the snarls for silence. They were here.

I braced myself and motioned with my hand that they were coming. I saw the large doors creak open, and a harpy sat on the wall above. She saw me and cawed gently, and the group came into the orchard. A large grey Wolf led them; he was clearly their leader, the rest weren't much to report, just the usual evil henchmen. Minotaur's, ogres, some wolves, including Silver, and hags, and some dwarfs came in the rear. Nothing I hadn't seen before.

The Wolf sauntered up to me and I rose, but he snarled,

'Do they know we're here?'

'Do you think I'm stupid?'

He snorted, and the harpy swopped down to join the group.

'Good point. Now, enough with formalities, I am Veskil'

'I'm not surprised. For a wolf you aren't very original, you know. I've seen scarier'

'I didn't know if you were to be trusted, Princess'

'So you didn't trust our Queen's orders? That not a very good start'

The Minotaur snarled and butted in,

'Veskil has lead us well since you didn't, you ungrateful-'

Veskil snarled and bared his teeth at the Minotaur,

'Enough. She followed the Queen's orders, as did we. I will serve the Princess, the soon to be Queen of Narnia, the true Queen that Queen Jadis left us in her wake. If you do not, then I will kill you here and be done with it'

The Minotaur backed away slightly, before bowing to me,

'I will follow you, Princess'

The rest followed suit, all bowing to me, before I spoke,

'So are you all just going to stand there or will you take me to my army?'

Veskil smirked, if a wolf could smirk, and spoke smugly,

'You will lead us well. Those imposters will cower when you destroy all that is theirs'

For good measure, I smiled smugly and let my fire go, encircling my hands and covering me in gold light,

'Yes, I will. They have not known me as an enemy, only a prisoner. They have not felt true fear yet. But I can change that'

The group jumped at the sight of my flames, and I felt the archers get ready. My flames were the signal. The Narnians attacked the same moment I did, letting my flames take forms and pouncing on the group. The Pevensie's joined the fight, and I stepped away, watching them in case something happened. Veskil prowled closer me, snarling,

'You didn't honestly think I believed you, Little Lioness?'

'No, I didn't, I was just hoping you were stupid enough not to think too much about it. And I was right, I told you, you don't surprise me'

'Don't worry though, if you don't join us soon, then I will kill you myself. You don't belong with _them_; you shouldn't even be alive now, so I'm doing you a favour'

I glanced quickly at the fight just beyond Veskil. Peter had just killed the dwarves, and Edmund was fighting an ogre. I couldn't see Lucy, while Susan was shooting arrows at the harpy. Silver had retreated and was bounding away, out the large doors and back to the North. Go figure the Tiger is a coward.

'So you're just going to chit chat with me while your little friends die? That just screams 'leadership', doesn't it?'

'So what if they die? I have many more that would willingly die for me. And soon, I will be a better leader than you ever were. Queen Jadis will be wrong, and your Magic will be mine'

I pull my knife out of my boot and in a second I had the wolf by the throat. But he howled and two wolves came up to us, one was dragging Lucy with him, her arm in his jaw. She was frantic, and no one else had noticed her in trouble. I was going to kill them all for leaving her.

'Let me go now, little princess'

I let him go, and the wolves released Lucy, but not before breaking her arm with a twist of his neck. Lucy's piercing scream echoed across the orchard, but it was drowned out by the screams of the dying and the other injured. Veskil snarled at the wolves and they joined the fight again. I pulled Lucy to me and she clung to me with her good arm, the other sitting at an odd angle.

Veskil's group were all going to die, and he knew it. So now it was time for his escape. But before he did, he turned to me,

'You can't protect them, you never could. So why bother now? Soon you will join us, and your Magic will destroy them all'

'Don't expect me to join you any time soon. I'll be seeing you, dog'

He howled and retreated out the doors, while the Narnians yelled in triumph as the last of the group fell. I held Lucy close, letting her cry.

'Lucy, I'm soo sorry'

'N-no, d-don't be. I-I was s-stupid, I t-thought I could f-fight them'

'It was my fault. I can fix it though. Let me take you to the medical wing, I'll heal it'

'C -can you do it s-soon?'

'Of course I can, just let me-'

'LUCY!'

Peter, Susan and Edmund were there, running toward us. Edmund had a nasty cut on his head, and Susan had some scratches on her arms. Peter was fine, but they all looked terrified. Lucy was still clinging to me, and adrenaline seemed to kick in, so she wasn't crying.

'I-I'm okay, Lea's g-going to heal it'

'You are not okay, look at your arm!'

She motioned to look at it, but I spoke quickly,

'Don't look at it. Whatever you do, do not look. Just look at me'

She did, and I could see in her eyes she didn't blame me. But I still should have been there for her. I shouldn't have been stupid. We may have won this battle, but the war is still coming, and I couldn't help them.

Peter watched me furiously,

'Why didn't you follow the plan?'

'If there was a plan, you didn't really tell me. Only to sit there and give the signal'

'Then you weren't paying attention! Look what happened to Lucy! This is your fault'

Susan frowned,

'Peter, you didn't tell her to watch Lucy'

'She knew we were busy, she should have thought!'

'She's not a mind reader Peter, you should have said something!'

Then there was an awkward silence, as Susan realised how wrong her words were. But I didn't have time for this, so I helped Lucy stand and said,

'Look, just leave it alone for now and I'll help Lucy. I'm taking her to the medical wing to fix her arm and see who else is injured; I may be able to help them too. Would you all at least just grow up? Lucy, close your eyes please'

And with that, I phased away from the orchard in a spark of gold flame. We were near Keela, so I let her take Lucy as I assessed everyone else. Nothing serious, all minor, but with them they wouldn't be able to fight in the war. I went to the nearest, a Faun with large gashes across his chest. I asked him if I could help and he nodded, still shaking and clutching a dagger in his hand. He wouldn't speak. The poor thing was in shock, it must have been his first battle.

I put my hands over the wounds, and concentrated. I let my fire heat the wounds and I felt them heal under my hands. The Faun yelped and grinned when I was finished, thanking me. And I moved on to the next cot.

It took a while, and I was a bit dizzy after healing so many, but before long I had only one left, Lucy. I went to her cot, and the others were there, watching over her. Edmund was holding her hand and Susan was talking to Keela.

I went over, ignoring Peters protests of 'No magic', and placed my hand over her arm. It was healed in seconds, and it wasn't resting at the odd angle. Lucy woke instantly and stretched the arm out, experimenting, before hugging me tightly,

'Thank you'

'No problem, Ed, let me see that cut of yours'

He was still staring at Lucy's arm in awe, but I walked over to him, kneeling in front of him and taking his face in my hands,

'Let me see'

He looked at me, before pulling his hair away from his forehead. The cut was bad, and there were still some splinters in it from the ogres club. I healed it gently, letting him watch me the whole time. When I was done, he placed one of his hands over mine and smiled,

'You never fail to surprise me, do you?'

'Nope, I'll keep you on your toes, chipmunk'

'Okay, okay, don't call me that'

Lucy was giggling as I stood, and a wave of nausea hit me. I had to leave quickly, but I smiled at them and said goodnight, before walking calmly out of the room and then running the rest of the way. I shut my door and raced to the mirror. I had healed large groups before, but never so much in one period of time, first the fight at the dance, now this. I felt blood trickled down my face, and I pulled my hair back, showing Edmund's cut on my head. I set to work, pulling out the splinters as the other cuts, bruises and gashes gradually appeared on my body and trying to ignore the pain. Magic always has a price, I guess.

I got changed, cutting up a dress to cover the wounds. I wasn't sure how I was going to cover my bruised face and arms, the cuts and claw marks covering me, but that wasn't what I was worried about at the moment. I got into bed and readied myself, grabbing a piece of leather I had found in a drawer, and clamped it in my mouth, just as my arm began to break, to cover my screams.

**Edmund POV**

I walked into Maddok's room before the ambush began, and he laughed,

'I was wondering when you would show'

'Why, you thought I would come?'

'No, I knew you would. You saw her death'

'How do I stop it?'

'You can't. Well...not now anyway. Fates change, so she may not even die, it's just what going to happen if you all keep going on the way you do'

'How do I stop it? I'm not asking again'

'Stop her from going to the war, at all costs. Then she'll live. But many will die if she doesn't save them'

'I just want her to live. She won't listen to me; she'll go no matter what I say'

'Don't worry about that. I have a plan, but you have to keep her oblivious. I can leave this room tomorrow, so I'll get to work then, in the meantime, you have to stop her from suspecting me'

'Fine, but what are you going to do?'

'I'm going to give King Peter a reason to never trust her again, to lock her up until this war is over. That way she'll be alive'

'What did you have in mind?'

'All in good time, now go. Veskil will be coming soon'

To know I had someone who would help me made me feel better about it, but I still couldn't bring myself to trust him just yet. He still tried to kill her, and that didn't settle well with me. But for now, I had at least someone.

The whole time of that stupid ambush, all I could think about was that wolf killing her. I thought so much I didn't see the ogre's club swinging for my head. Everything else is a bit fuzzy, but by the time I came to, we had won, and Lea was alive. I was relieved until I saw Lucy's arm.

It was completely broken; I had no idea how much pain she must be in, so I got Peter and Susan and we ran to see her. Lea looked devastated as she held Lucy, like she was giving in to defeat already. It was hard to see her like this, and I was glad she took Lucy away before Peter and Susan started fighting. Peter was furious with Lea, again, and Susan was angry at Peter.

I left them to it, not even bothering to pay any attention to them, and ended up helping the injured to the medical wing. When I got there, I saw Lea healing a Faun. It was amazing to watch; the gold light around the wound, the confusion and then the gratitude of the Faun, and Lea's smile. She looked peaceful, happy, and beautiful.

I left her to work, and I went to see Lucy. Keela had given her some herbs to stop the pain, but her arm still needed to be set. I held her hand, sitting beside her as Susan and Peter came. We all looked at each other and silently agreed. We were all at fault, not Lea.

Peter actually looked guilty for the first time in weeks, and Susan went to speak to Keela when Lea came over to avoid her. She healed Lucy's arm in seconds, I couldn't believe how easy it was for her. If she wasn't here, Lucy would have been in pain for weeks, not mere minutes.

I didn't even know my head was bleeding until she asked me, and when she knelt next to me, I wanted to talk to her about what I saw. I wanted to make sure she was okay. But she healed my head and excused herself quickly. But not before I noticed the blood on her dress, the exact same marks that the Faun had before she healed him.

**Peter POV**

I sat in my study, mulling over the plans. It was well past midnight, and I was still angry. I had to protect the others from _her_. She was far too dangerous, look at how she and Veskil were so friendly; it didn't look good to me at all. And the way she ran away after healing Lucy, something was up. Every day she frustrates me more and more, I can't stop thinking whether or not I can trust her. One second I think I can the next I want to arrest her and throw her in the dungeons. She's too much of a risk.

A knock on the door jolted me out of my thoughts, and King Lune walked into the room,

'Mind if I talk to you for a minute?'

'Of course, come in'

He sat opposite me and watched me carefully before asking,

'Come on then, what's eating you?'

'How did you know?'

'You'd be surprised; I was a young King once you know'

'I don't trust Leona at all, I feel like she's going to betray us, and I'll be angry with myself if I begin to believe her story again. But after the battle, when I saw her with Lucy, I wasn't afraid. I was glad Lucy was with someone, even if it was her. I don't know if I was wrong this entire time, but maybe I was'

'Yes, you might have been. But that is a choice you made at the time, the only thing you can do now is trust your own judgement. I'll admit, I was a bit worried, but you know what you are doing, and it's wrong not to trust your instincts'

'Do you think she'll do something?'

'Maybe, but I know she's keeping a lot on her shoulders. For someone so young, she has seen too much of the world to see the good in it. I believe she may be in for an even harder time in the future than she is now. Aslan is testing us all'

'Do you think she's like the Witch?'

'Hearing her story...no. I believe the Witch showed her her darker side, but the princess is strong, and she won't give in to it. I believe that her Magic will help rather than destroy, I heard what she did in the medical wing was quite spectacular'

'It was good of her to help them, I suppose'

'If she was evil, she would have made them worse, or killed Narnians during the battle. But from what I heard, she protected Queen Lucy'

'When I couldn't'

'Don't beat yourself up, she's thirteen, she's old enough to make her own choices. You're her brother, you can't protect her all the time, you know'

I nodded; I guess I was wrong about Leona sometimes. Maybe King Lune was right, but I still feel like something's going to happen. Soon.

**Leona POV**

A knock on my door the next morning jolted me out of a nap on my chair. I set my arm in place last night and I had a restless night, so I was exhausted and just needed to rest it while it healed, so I used a cut up white dress as a sling, but the cuts wouldn't stop bleeding and the bruises were turning purple. I had chosen a plain, long sleeved dark grey dress that covered most of my bruises and cuts pretty well. I looked bad, like I had taken on the entire group by myself. But there was no helping it, it had to be done.

I got up stiffly, ignoring the screams of pain from my arm and my ribs, which had been badly bruised as well, to add to my ever growing list. I swear when I was with Jadis even she didn't give me as much injuries as I've got staying here. The irony is unbelievable. I pull my hair up high with black ribbon, keeping the fringe down to cover some of my face.

I opened the door carefully with my good arm, to Lucy who jumped at me, hugging me fiercely. I yelped and danced out of her grasp, keeping my eyes on the floor, and letting her assess me. I heard her gasp and say,

'Let me see'

So I lifted my face, watching her expression of horror make me feel self-conscious.

'What happened? Did something happen? Did someone attack you?'

'No...no. its nothing like that. I just...hadn't healed so many at once, it caught up with me'

'So...you took all our wounds from last night? But what about my arm? It was broken'

'I set the bone in place so it can heal. Don't worry; I heal faster than you so it's better if I have it rather than you'

'But you healed people at the dance'

'Yeah, but it wasn't that long ago. I can only heal for a length of time, and when the time is up, I transfer the wounds instead. Look, just don't worry about it, its fine'

'Look at your face in the mirror and tell me it is not fine!'

'Lucy, just trust me. I know what I'm doing'

'Well, you're the only one'

'I'm sure they're all fine, come on, we can't be late'

We left my room and made our way to the dining room, but King Lune met us in the hall. He bowed happily to Lucy and just stared at me.

'Can I speak to you, Princess?'

'Of course, but just call me Leona. Or Lea'

Lucy eyed me until I nodded to her, and she continued without me. King Lune tutted and started to fix my sling,

'You tied it wrong, it's all crooked'

'Thanks, I didn't know'

'That's alright, you'd be surprised how many of these I've had and how many I've put on in my lifetime'

'Too many, I'm guessing'

He laughed,

'Yes, I suppose'

'King Lune, is that all you wanted to speak to me about?'

'No, actually. I have a message for you'

'Who from? I figured my days of getting messages were over, with the whole with thing being out in the open and all'

'It's not from anyone here; actually it was passed down for years for you to get it'

'Who's it from?'

'Who else? You're family'

King Lune directed me into one of the studies in the hall, to make sure no one overheard us. I wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but he was the most sincere person I had ever met, besides Lucy, so I suppose I had to give him to benefit of the doubt.

'Each one of your family left a message for you. Would you like to hear them?'

'...yes. I would'

'Your father said,

_'Use my sword wisely, and don't forget to rely on your own skills, I love you',_

While your mother said,

_'You're more important than all of us, sweetheart. Know your enemies, live a good life and stay safe', _

Your brother Frank said,

_'The worst thing you can do now is look back and regret. Never regret anything you've done, it's who you are, L'_

Theo said,

_'Learn how to use a bow and arrow for Aslan's sake! I swear it'll save your life sooner or later. Love you sis'_

And Col said,

_'Try not to forget me, or any of us. We won't be there when you're needed in Narnia. Make sure they made big statues of me! I'm still betting on you'_

I listened to him recite the messages, tears streaming down my face. King Lune finished and, seeing me crying, mumbled,

'My father made me learn it, like his father made him, like his grandfather made him, and so on. Your brother asked the message to keep being told to the next King of Archenland, until it reached you. I'm proud to be the one to finally get the message to you, Little Lioness. Your family clearly loves you'

I nod, and turn my head away from him. He got the gist of what I meant and said goodbye before leaving me to my thoughts, and my tears.

**i'm sorry for not updating in a while so this chapter is quite long, but i was going through a mini writer's block, but dont worry! i'm back on track and ready to gooo ;) buuut i still need more characters! come on, help me out here only one person replied to my idea, it cant be that bad! Get involved in the story! i ****_promise_**** the original character you give me will have a small but HUGE role in what's to come...and any suggestions or advice would be great too please :)**

**please review!**


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